COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Buildings

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total running costs were for each building used, owned or rented in central London by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three financial years.

Brandon Lewis: Since May 2010, the Department has had considerable success in reducing the cost of its estate across the country through the rationalisation of retained office space and targeted building disposals. This has seen the Department surrender six leasehold office properties through a combination of lease breaks and expiries, generating net savings in the period of circa £7 million per annum.
	The Department has also successfully sublet surplus space across its leasehold office estate during the same period, reducing the overall property costs by circa £6.5 million per annum. Building on this success, in 2013-14 we have already secured additional savings of £1.5 million by subletting further space in Eland House, Victoria.
	Most recently, the Department negotiated the early surrender of Eland House, with DCLG scheduled to relocate to 2 Marsham Street with the Home Office during the summer of 2014, realising annual savings of circa £9 million for DCLG and circa £24 million for Government.
	The following table provides information for bodies which are still operating.
	
		
			  Total running costs (£)  
			 Central London properties 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Lease expiry/break 
			 DCLG Eland House, Bressenden Place, SW1E 5DU 23,833,620 22,244,651 23,532,680 22,195,936 29 September 2014 (renegotiated early surrender date) 
			 Homes and Communities Agency Maple House, Tottenham Court Road, W1T 7BN 494,358 594,336 574,987 (1)1,489,377 11 September 2014 
			 Homes and Communities Agency Palestra House, Blackfriars Road, SE1 8AA 661,453 676,853 508,952 0 3 March 2012 (now vacated) 
			 Homes and Communities Agency Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9SA 1,261,440 1,239,686 79,596 1,050 26 June 2010 (now vacated) 
			 Valuation Tribunal Service Black Lion House, Tower Hamlets, E1 1DU 345,172 432,255 441,730 472,037 25 December 2013 (under review) 
			 Independent Housing Ombudsman Aldwych House, 81 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4HN 132,364 385,013 385,272 404,534 6 August 2017 
			 Local Government Ombudsman Millbank Tower, Millbank, SW1P 4QP 1,046,532 1,123,518 1,152,915 1,138,079 25 December 2013 (break to be served) 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre SW1P 3EE 8,926,000 7,162,000 7,727,000 7,505,000 Freehold 
			 (1) Increase due to absorbing residual functions of Tenant Services Authority. 
		
	
	However, this table understates the full savings being delivered to the taxpayer, as since 2010, we have significantly reduced the number of departmental quangos. It would entail disproportionate cost to provide a full breakdown of running costs, but I would note that in addition to the savings above, property savings have also been made as a consequence of:
	Abolishing the Government office for the regions, including the Government office for London.
	Abolishing the Tenant Services Authority and National Tenant Voice.
	Abolishing the Standards Board for England.
	Abolishing Firebuy.
	Abolishing the Audit Commission and outsourcing its audit contracts (ongoing).
	Transferring the Fire Service College to the private sector.
	Abolishing/localising the Thurrock Development Corporation and London Thames Gateway Development Corporation.
	More broadly, the DCLG Group is reducing its annual running costs by 41% in real terms by 2014-15. This equates to net savings of at least £532,000,000 over this spending review period.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was given by his Department to each English local authority for council tax support budgets in 2011-12.

Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	Prior to the cessation of council tax benefit from April 2013, the Department for Work and Pensions provided each local authority in England, Scotland and Wales with a contribution towards its costs for administering both housing and council tax benefits. This Administration Subsidy was a combined funding stream and it is not possible to separate out a specific amount purely relating to processing council tax benefits as the majority of such work was done holistically as part of a joint claim with housing benefit.
	A table showing a breakdown of the Administration Subsidy provided to each local authority in England in 2011-12 will be placed in the Library.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the average change in income of working families as a result of changes to council tax benefit.

Brandon Lewis: The impact assessment for the Government’s policy framework for localising council tax support is available on the Department’s website.
	The design of local schemes, and the assessment of their impact, is the responsibility of local authorities.

Council Tax: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he has taken and how much financial support he has given to the London borough of Havering to ensure council tax can stay low.

Brandon Lewis: This Government have provided funding for a council tax freeze in three successive financial years in England. The following table shows the amounts of council tax freeze grant provided in each financial year for the London borough of Havering.
	
		
			 Council tax freeze grant funding for Havering: 2011-12 to 2013-14 
			 £ 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Total 
			 2011-12(1) 2,680,191 2,680,191 2,680,191 2,680,191 10,720,764 
			 2012-13(2) — 2,693,308 — — 2,693,308 
			 2013-14(3) — — 1,097,611 1,097,611 2,195,222 
			 Total — — — — 15,609,294 
			 (1) Calculated as 2.5% of the 2010-11 Band D amount multiplied by the 2011-12 tax base, rounded to the nearest pound. (2) A one-off grant was provided in 2012-13, calculated in the same way as 2011-12. The applied percentage of the 2011-12 Band D amount varied by type of authority; outer London boroughs received a grant of 2.5%. (3) Grants provided in 2013-14 were calculated as 1% of the 2012-13 Band D amount multiplied by the 2013-14 tax base, rounded to the nearest pound. 
		
	
	Havering residents have also benefited from the funding given to the Greater London Authority to freeze their council tax precept.

Families: Disadvantaged

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many families of gang nominals have been identified in the troubled families programme to date (a) nationally and (b) by local authority;
	(2)  what proportion of known families of gang nominals have been identified in the troubled families programme (a) nationally and (b) by local authority.

Brandon Lewis: We do not specifically gather information at either a national or local authority level relating to the number of known families of gang nominals identified in the troubled families programme.
	However, an analysis of family-level monitoring data held by local authorities will form part of the independent evaluation of the national troubled families programme, and will include where available, information about gang nominals. Evaluation reports will be published periodically.

Fire Services: Sign Language

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the equality of access available for deaf people whose first language is British Sign Language in communicating with the fire service; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what measures his Department has in place to ensure that deaf people have the opportunity to communicate in British Sign Language with the (a) fire services and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 20 May 2013, Official Report, column 429W.

Homelessness

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of people who are made homeless are deemed intentionally homeless.

Mark Prisk: Households that apply to local authorities for assistance under the Housing and Homelessness Acts are owed a main homelessness duty (and so regarded as ‘statutorily homeless’) if a local authority decides that they are eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and within a priority need group. This definition therefore automatically excludes any households that are intentionally homeless.
	The Department collects figures from local authorities on the number of households for which decisions were made that were found to be eligible for assistance and within a priority need group, but intentionally homeless. Between 1 October and 31 December 2012, 2,220 such cases were recorded nationally, representing 8% of the 29,060 decisions made.
	This information is also available in DCLG Live Table 770, at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness
	Figures for 1 January to 31 March 2013 will be published on 6 June.
	We are investing £470 million in homelessness prevention over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15) to help local authorities and voluntary sector partners prevent and tackle homelessness, rough sleeping and repossessions.
	Homelessness is around half the average level it was under the last Administration. Homelessness acceptances remain lower than in 27 of the last 30 years.

Housing Benefit: Tenants

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to encourage landlords to accept benefit claimants as tenants.

Mark Prisk: The Government estimate that, at any point in time, around one third of households privately renting are in receipt of housing benefit. This suggests that it continues to be possible for claimants to access the sector. However, private landlords and letting agents operate on a commercial basis and, as for any business, it is reasonable for them to make independent decisions about who they let to.
	The English Housing Survey headline report for 2011-12 indicates that almost two-thirds (64%) of households in the social rented sector were in receipt of housing benefit.
	Welfare reform will improve work incentives and help more people move into employment. This is good news for landlords as well as the Government. However, we recognise that the move away from managed payments to landlords for working-age benefits claimants is a challenge, particularly for the social sector. That is why the Government are committed to developing universal credit in a way that protects landlords’ financial position.
	Managed payments to landlords will continue where claimants are deemed to be at risk of non-payment or where arrears build beyond a certain level. Once on managed payments, we will recoup arrears on behalf of the landlord from the claimant’s universal credit and will continue to do so even if the claimant moves to a new address.
	We are working with DWP to ensure the right safeguards for landlords and tenants are designed into universal credit through learning from the direct payment demonstration projects.
	These safeguards will apply in both the private and social sectors.

Housing: Lancashire

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much his Department paid to Rossendale Borough Council in respect of the New Homes Bonus in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 to date;
	(2)  how much his Department paid to Blackburn-with-Darwen Borough Council in respect of the New Homes Bonus in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 to date;
	(3)  how much his Department paid to Lancashire County Council in respect of the New Homes Bonus in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 to date.

Mark Prisk: The New Homes Bonus payments to Blackburn-with-Darwen, Rossendale and Lancashire county councils are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  A B C D E 
			 Authority 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 (to date) 2013-14 Total paid to date (A+B+C) 
			 Blackburn- with-Darwen 110,500 323,533 63,635 381,804 497,668 
			 Rossendale 102,472 217,111 48,367 290,196 367,951 
			 Lancashire 464,868 1,031,126 299,042 1,794,219 1,795,036 
		
	
	New Homes Bonus is being paid in 12 monthly instalments in 2013-14. New Homes Bonus is a powerful, simple, transparent and permanent incentive for local authorities and communities to increase their aspirations for housing growth.

Inflation

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will list the purposes for which his Department uses (a) the retail price index measure of inflation, (b) the consumer price index measure of inflation and (c) any alternative measure of inflation.

Brandon Lewis: It would incur disproportionate cost to outline every single measure used and the reasons why. My Department uses the retail prices index, consumer prices index, and other relevant indices (including GDP deflators, average earnings index, producer prices index, and private sector measures such as house price indices). Uses will include the re-rating and revaluing of charges, rates, reliefs, rents; the indexing of contracts, funding arrangements and pay agreements; analysing, forecasting and estimating real-terms changes and trends.
	The Department's choice of measure is dependent on a number of factors including:
	requirements explicitly specified in legislation,
	central Government guidance (for example, HM Treasury's Green Book),
	historical availability (the consumer prices index only came into being in 1996, whereas the retail prices index dates from 1947),
	differences in the coverage of each measure (for example, the consumer prices index excludes housing costs, such as council tax, mortgage interest payments and major repairs), and
	the general fit and appropriateness for the public policy topic.
	Further details of the differences between the main measures of inflation are provided in various guidance documents published by the Office for National Statistics:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/economy/prices-output-and-productivity/price-indices-and-inflation

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the viability of local enterprise partnerships in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from other Departments to discuss a range of matters. This Government are committed to creating local growth, whether in urban or rural areas.

Local Government Finance: Remand in Custody

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the possible effects on local authority budgets of the youth remand provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Brandon Lewis: The Ministry of Justice has provided an assessment of potential costs for local authorities, emanating from the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012; and these costs will be funded in accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine.

Local Government Finance: Remand in Custody

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the effects on local authority budgets of the provisions on secure remand in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: Ministers meet Cabinet colleagues regularly to discuss a range of issues.

Non-domestic Rates: Northumberland

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that Northumberland county council is utilising powers under the Localism Act 2011 to provide business rate relief for small businesses in Northumberland.

Brandon Lewis: We have made it easier for small firms to get the small business rate relief to which they are entitled. Our reforms in the Localism Act 2011 ensure all eligible ratepayers can automatically receive the small business multiplier, and we have removed the legal red tape requiring ratepayers to fill in significant paperwork to claim the relief. The last Administration failed to support simplification to help small firms when they were in office (q.v. 6 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1141-1142).
	In turn, we have also doubled the small business rate relief scheme, to help half a million small firms. From October 2010 to April 2014, small firms are receiving 100% rate relief (i.e. pay no business rates at all) on properties up to £6,000 rateable value, and a tapered rate relief from £6,000 to £12,000. An estimated 330,000 small firms are paying no rates at all.
	The Localism Act also gives councils the power to introduce local discounts to business rates. Under the new system of local retention of business rates introduced by the Local Government Finance Act 2012, central Government now funds 50% of the cost of any local discount granted. We would encourage local authorities to make creative and constructive use of these new powers.

Personnel Management

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many officials in his Department were employed in human resources functions in each of the last five years; at what grades such staff were employed; and what the total cost of his Department's human resources functions was.

Brandon Lewis: The following table lists the in-post staff undertaking human resources-related work:
	
		
			  Staff in post at 31 March Cost of function (£ million) 
			 2010-11(1) 84 4.3 
			 2011-12 49 3.5 
			 2012-13 40 2.1 
		
	
	The breakdown of grades in each period was:
	
		
			 Date Director Deputy Director Grade 6 Grade 7 SEO HEO EO AO 
			 31 March 2011(1) 1 3 3 15 9 16 7 0 
			 31 March 2012 1 2 2 12 4 14 7 7 
			 31 March 2013 1 1 2 9 2 14 6 5 
			 (1) The Department conducted a baseline exercise for the 2010-11 reporting year which established there were 54 human resources staff in DCLG. The grade breakdown for these staff is shown above. In addition there were 30 Government office for the regions human resources staff who were subsequently merged into the DCLG human resources function. The salary and grade data for the Government office staff are no longer available as a result of the closure of the Government office for the regions and so are not reflected in the table. Applying an average DCLG median salary for the 30 Government office human resources staff it is estimated that the total cost of the combined 84 human resources staff in 2010-11 was £4.3 million. 
		
	
	To place this in context, total departmental staff costs have fallen from £216 million in 2009-10 to £109 million in 2011-12. Further savings have been made by the abolition of the Government offices for the regions.
	Prior to 2010-11, DCLG did not separately cost or record human resources staff in this way and it is therefore not possible to provide comparable data for this period.
	My Department plans to make further cost savings and staffing reductions within the HR function through the sharing of services, in collaboration with other Government Departments and Civil Service Human Resources and, by April 2015, the contracting out of transactional human resources services to a new private sector provider.

Spare Rooms

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has considered incentivising and allowing council and housing association tenants to rent spare rooms.

Mark Prisk: Council and housing association tenants with secure tenancies have a statutory right to take in a lodger. Housing association tenants with assured tenancies will be able to take in a lodger unless restrictions in the tenancy agreement prohibit them from doing so.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government has supported the Chartered Institute of Housing to produce a guide for social landlords to help them prepare for the removal of the spare room subsidy. ‘Making it Fit', which was published last June, encourages landlords to provide advice to tenants affected by the measure on a range of options including taking in a lodger to help meet the shortfall in the rent.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many objections were made to each of the proposed offshore wind farms included in the Crown Estates Phase 3 programme; and how many of those objections related to the proposed Navitus Bay wind farm.

Mark Prisk: In 2009, the Crown Estate identified nine areas for Round 3 offshore wind farms. The Planning Inspectorate was not involved in the identification of these areas. Successful developer partners for these sites were announced in January 2010. These developers are required to submit planning applications to the Planning Inspectorate or Marine Scotland to gain planning consent.
	Applications have been made to the Planning Inspectorate for two offshore wind farms which are located within Crown Estates Phase 3 programme sites. These comprise: East Anglia One, accepted for examination on 14 December 2012, and Rampion offshore wind farm, accepted for examination on 25 March 2013.
	In addition to these, there are currently five schemes registered at pre-application under the Planning Act 2008. These comprise: Atlantic Array (Bristol Channel), Rhiannon (North of Anglesey), Dogger Bank (East of Teeside), Hornsea (off the Yorkshire coast) and Navitus Bay (south-west of the Isle of Wight). At this stage the Planning Inspectorate provides advice to the developers, local authorities and the public involved in the Planning Act 2008 process. At pre-application any comments on the schemes need to be made directly to the developer.
	Once an application has been accepted for examination, anybody interested in a scheme can register with the Planning Inspectorate during the “relevant representation period” and become an “interested party” by making a “relevant representation”. This time period is advertised by the developer. Relevant representations comprise views on the scheme, positive or negative. Once the period for relevant representations has closed, these are published on the project webpage. East Anglia One received 119 relevant representations. Rampion received 212 representations.
	In relation to the specific query on Navitus Bay, this application is still at the pre-application stage and the developer is currently undertaking formal consultation on the proposals. The Planning Inspectorate has published all its advice given in response to queries received regarding this project on the Navitus Bay project page of its website:
	http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/projects/south-east/navitus-bay-wind-park-formerly-isle-of-wight/?ipcsection=advice

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business: Advisory Services

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1034W, on business: advisory services, by what date he expects the call for expressions of interest for the Growth Vouchers Scheme to (a) open and (b) close; and what timetable he has set for this process.

Michael Fallon: A call for expressions of interest was opened on 29 April 2013 and closed on 29 May 2013.

Companies Act 2006

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps (a) he and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible are taking to enforce the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 in respect of the declaration of overseas subsidiaries; what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms for the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 on the declaration of overseas subsidiaries; and what steps he is taking to increase transparency in the declaration of overseas subsidiaries and the accessibility of this information.

Michael Fallon: The obligations on companies to disclose information about their subsidiaries are set out in sections 409 and 410 of the Companies Act 2006 and associated regulations. The requirements are extensive and clear. Enforcement of these requirements must be proportionate and targeted.
	I have asked Companies House if improvements can be made to its enforcement procedures and it will report back to me on this matter. Alongside this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is considering whether any change to the legislation is appropriate.

Employment Schemes: Wirral

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what job initiatives his Department is supporting in Wirral South constituency; and what assessment he has made of the efficiency of such schemes.

Matthew Hancock: We are supporting jobs in Wirral South by tackling the record deficit to keep interest rates low, tackling barriers to employment, radically reforming education and expanding apprenticeships, which provide individuals of all ages with pathways into employment.
	Final data for the 2011/12 academic year show that there were 810 apprenticeship starts in Wirral South parliamentary constituency, up by 7.5% on 2010/11.
	£11 million has been allocated to programmes in Wirral from the Regional Growth Fund which will in turn leverage £204 million of private sector investment.
	In April 2012 we launched an online tool called “Employing staff for the first time”, helping to make it easier for businesses taking on their first member of staff. The tool currently receives around 12,000 visits a month. Through the Business in You campaign we are supporting and encouraging people to start or grow their businesses and employ more staff, and small and medium-sized enterprises can access support and advice through:
	www.gov.uk
	the new home for Government services and information online.
	A huge number of further measures are taking place to support jobs in Wirral and elsewhere to help Britain compete.

Exports: Government Assistance

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 24 April 2013, Official Report, column 995W, on exports: Government assistance, when he expects an application for approval under EU state aid rules to be submitted in relation to the (a) Export Refinancing Facility and (b) Direct Lending Scheme administered by UK export finance; and what deadlines he has set for this.

Michael Fallon: The Government are not making applications to the EU Commission for approval under EU state aid rules in respect of the proposed Export Refinancing Facility and the Direct Lending Scheme.
	UK Export Finance will be accepting applications for support under the Direct Lending Scheme from the beginning of September.

New Businesses

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answers of 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1040W, and 1 March 2013, Official Report, column 743W, on new businesses, how many pilot spaces for start-ups are currently open to businesses.

Michael Fallon: The first of the pilot spaces has opened in Wimbledon, and details for the space can be found at:
	http://3space.org/properties/london-and-south/london-wimbledon
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office are finalising with our providers preparations for the three other pilot spaces, and we aim to announce the opening of these soon.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Nationals Abroad: Electoral Register

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to (a) enable and (b) encourage UK citizens resident overseas to register and vote in UK elections.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The Government are committed to doing all they can to maximise voter registration, including among British citizens living overseas. As part of the move to Individual Electoral Registration, to help simplify the registration process we plan to remove the requirement for a person's initial application as an overseas elector to be attested by another British citizen resident abroad.
	We are also extending the electoral timetable for UK parliamentary elections from 17 to 25 working days, which will allow postal votes to be issued sooner and so make it easier for postal voters living overseas to return their ballot papers.
	The Electoral Commission promotes awareness of UK electoral systems and electoral registration procedures including how to vote, and the Government understand that the Commission will target British citizens living overseas as part of their online advertising campaigns ahead of the next planned elections.
	We will continue to explore ways to encourage registration among overseas electors in discussions with the Electoral Commission and other interested parties.

Diplomatic Service

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many honorary consuls there are; and where they are posted.

Mark Simmonds: There are 231 honorary consul positions in the world and their location by country is set out in the table.
	
		
			 Honorary consul locations Number 
			 Andorra 1 
			 Antigua and Barbuda 1 
			 Argentina 3 
			 Australia 3 
			 Austria 4 
			 Bahamas 1 
			 Barbados 2 
			 Belgium 1 
			 Benin 1 
			 Bhutan 1 
			 Bolivia 1 
			 Brazil 5 
			 Burkina Faso 1 
			 Cameroon 4 
			 Canada 4 
			 Cape Verde 1 
			 Central African Republic 1 
			 Chad 1 
			 Chile 5 
			 Colombia 3 
			 Congo 1 
			 Croatia 1 
			 Curacao 1 
			 Denmark 5 
			 Djibouti 1 
			 Dominica 1 
			 Dominican Republic 2 
			 DRC 1 
			 East Timor 1 
			 Ecuador 3 
			 Egypt 3 
			 El Salvador 1 
			 Equatorial Guinea 1 
			 Finland 9 
			 France 12 
			 French Guyana 1 
			 Gambia 1 
			 Germany 7 
			 Grenada 1 
			 Greece 2 
			 Guinea Bissau 1 
			 Guyana 1 
			 Honduras 3 
			 Hong Kong 1 
			 Indonesia 1 
			 Israel 1 
			 Italy 7 
			 Jamaica 1 
			 Japan 2 
			 Kenya 1 
			 Kyrgyzstan 1 
			 Lebanon 1 
			 Lesotho 1 
			 Liberia 1 
			 Lithuania 1 
			 Macedonia 1 
			 Madagascar 2 
			 Malawi 1 
			 Malaysia 3 
			 Maldives 1 
			 Mauritania 1 
			 Mauritius 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Mexico 4 
			 Monaco 1 
			 Morocco 3 
			 Mozambique 1 
			 Netherlands 1 
			 New Zealand 1 
			 Nicaragua 1 
			 Nigeria 1 
			 Norway 7 
			 Paraguay 1 
			 Peru 4 
			 Philippines 1 
			 Poland 7 
			 Portugal 4 
			 Russia 4 
			 South Africa 2 
			 South Korea 1 
			 Spain 13 
			 St Kitts and Nevis 1 
			 St Vincent and the Grenadines 1 
			 Swaziland 1 
			 Sweden 2 
			 Syria 2 
			 Tanzania 3 
			 Thailand 2 
			 Togo 1 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 1 
			 Tunisia 1 
			 Turkey 3 
			 Uruguay 1 
			 USA 19 
			 Venezuela 2 
			 Yemen 2 
			 Total 231

Ukraine

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) his Ukranian counterpart and (b) the Home Office about the effect of Ukranian organised crime on the safety of British citizens and businesses in that country.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and I, along with our officials, regularly raise concerns with our Ukrainian counterparts about the problems faced by British citizens and businesses operating in Ukraine. The British embassy in Kyiv works closely with British businesses to support their activity in Ukraine, and provides advice and assistance to both UK citizens and companies that become victims of crime. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is also in regular contact with the Home Office and UK law enforcement agencies to ensure a joined-up cross-Whitehall response to these issues as they arise. In particular, a representative of the UK law enforcement agencies is part of the British embassy in Kyiv and works closely with Ukrainian counterparts in order to mitigate the impact of organised crime on UK citizens and businesses.
	The Secretary of State met the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Leonid Kozhara, on 13 May 2013 and raised a range of issues of particular concern.

Ukraine

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many requests for consular assistance relating to crime have been made by UK citizens at the UK Embassy in Kiev since 1993.

David Lidington: Since 1996 our embassy in Kyiv has dealt with approximately 228 requests for consular assistance relating to crime.
	Figures refer to both victims and perpetrators of crime, and include lost and stolen passports.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Merseyside

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions the accident and emergency waiting time has been breached in hospitals in (a) Wirral and (b) Merseyside in the last three years for which information is available.

Anna Soubry: The information is not held in the format requested. The number of times the accident and emergency (A and E) waiting time standard (95% of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours) has been missed since November 2010 for each NHS hospital trust in Merseyside is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 NHS trust Number of weeks not meeting the A and E standard since November 2010 
			 Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 60 
			 Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 26 
			 Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust 26 
			 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust 31 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 36 
			 St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 41 
			 Note: A and E data are not held at hospital site level so data for the relevant hospital trust have been provided. Source: NHS England Unify2 Data Collection Weekly SitRep.

Blood: Contamination

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the risk of (a) HIV, (b) bloodborn hepatitis and (c) vCJD infection as a result of using privately sourced plasma supplies from other countries.

Anna Soubry: None, as no privately sourced fresh frozen plasma supplies are used by NHS Blood and Transplant(1).
	(1 )NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) currently imports approximately 20,000 units of plasma, as fresh frozen plasma (FFP) (the only whole, non-fractionated plasma treatment provided by the United Kingdom blood services) per annum from Austria. The Austrian source is public, not privately sourced.
	The Austrian health service sources screen the plasma before sending to the UK in accordance with the requirements of the common European blood safety requirements of directive 2002/98/EC. This means that as a minimum Austria test to the same standards as those used in the United Kingdom and this includes tests for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
	On receipt by NHSBT the Austrian plasma also undergoes a pathogen inactivation process before further processing and being made available for issue to hospitals.
	Austrian plasma is issued primarily as a potential variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vGD) risk reduction measure for patients born since 1 January 1996 (i.e. after presumed effective measures for BSE control were established in the UK).

Blood: Donors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential effects of lifting the 12-month ban on gay men donating blood; and whether he has had discussions with counterparts in the devolved Administrations on this issue.

Anna Soubry: The blood donor selection criterion relating to men who have had sex with men was amended in November 2011 from permanent deferral to deferral for 12 months following the last relevant contact. This followed a recommendation from the independent Scientific Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO), which advises all four United Kingdom Health Departments. The change was implemented in England, Wales and Scotland, and remains under consideration in Northern Ireland.
	Deferral was set at 12 months to reduce the risk that a donor’s blood might carry an infection that could be transmitted to a transfusion recipient. Donations are routinely tested, but new infections and infections in the late phase of clearance may not be detected. Lifting this 12-month deferral would therefore increase the risk of a donation carrying an infection being released for transfusion.
	We are assessing the impact of the change made in 2011, and no further change is currently proposed. SaBTO keeps the donor selection criteria under review and will consider any significant new evidence and advise the UK Health Departments accordingly.

Care Homes

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will require the Care Quality Commission to record and collate data on individual registered managers of care companies to which warning notices or enforced deregistration has been applied.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of essential levels of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. As the CQC is independent, it is responsible for developing and consulting on its methodology for assessing whether providers are meeting the registration requirements and on what action it takes if a provider is not compliant. The Department does not prescribe how the CQC should collect, collate or record information which it receives.
	The CQC has provided the following information:
	Information on all registered managers is collected by the CQC as this is one area against which enforcement action can be taken to deliver improvements in the quality of services.
	The reporting of data detailing enforcement against registered managers is currently a manual process. The CQC has a planned programme of developments to its computerised information management system which will allow more systematic recording and reporting of enforcement activity later in 2013.
	The CQC is increasingly examining the role of registered managers, the absence and vacancy rates across corporate providers and the impact that this has on the quality of services provided. It is the CQC’s intention to consult over the summer on future development of its approach to regulation. Any changes to its arrangements will be developed through consultation.

Childbirth

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the percentage change was in the number of live births between 2001 and 2010.

Daniel Poulter: Between 2001 and 2010, the number of live births in England increased by 21.9%.

Drugs: Students

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the safety assessment of (a) Ritalin and (b) Modafinil in circumstances where they are being used without prescription for the purposes of enhanced academic performance; and if his Department will take steps to (i) inform students of the potential side effects of the use of such drugs and (ii) restrict the availability of such drugs without prescription.

Norman Lamb: In the United Kingdom, there are strict legal controls on the retail sale, supply and advertisement of medicinal products. Under medicines legislation, it is unlawful for medicinal products for human use to be marketed, manufactured, imported from a third country, distributed and sold or supplied in the UK except in accordance with the appropriate licences or exemptions.
	Ritalin (‘Methylphenidate’) is a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and listed under Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
	Modafinil is a prescription only medicine (POM) and is not controlled under the 1971 Act. As such, it may only be legally sold or supplied to the public through registered pharmacy premises, by or under the supervision of a pharmacist. Additionally, it may only be sold or supplied in response to a prescription from an authorised health care professional (such as a doctor, dentist, or certain trained nurses and pharmacists).
	A UK registered pharmacy may have a presence on the internet; however, the requirements of legislation apply equally to both UK internet pharmacies and bricks-and-mortar premises. Modafinil cannot be advertised directly to the public. These legal controls also apply equally to medicines for human use sold or supplied via the internet or e-mail transactions.
	These restrictions do not apply to countries outside UK jurisdiction where medicines may be classified and regulated differently.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), an executive agency of the Department, is responsible for the regulation of medicines on the UK market. The MHRA has serious concerns about the availability of medicines being offered via the internet and issues regular warnings to the public concerning the inherent risks of purchasing medicines online. MHRA advice is that medicines purchased from websites, particularly websites based overseas, cannot be guaranteed to meet set standards of quality, safety and efficacy and advises patients not to purchase medicines in this way.
	Neither methylphenidate (ritalin) or modafinil (provigil) are medicinal products authorised for use as cognition enhancers and the available efficacy and safety of these products for this use has not been evaluated by the MHRA.
	Aspects of drug education are covered in statutory national curriculum science; for example, the curriculum ensures that pupils learn about ‘the effects of drugs on behaviour, health and life processes'.
	This provision can be built on and extended through non-statutory personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. The goal of PSHE is to equip young people with the skills and knowledge they need to make informed decisions to keep them safe, and teachers have the flexibility to tailor their PSHE programmes to reflect the needs of their pupils.

General Practitioners

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to reduce the ratio of patients to GPs in Essex;
	(2)  what plans he has to publish guidelines on a maximum ratio of GPs to patients.

Daniel Poulter: Responsibility for the provision of primary medical services transferred to NHS England from 1 April 2013—this includes ensuring there are an adequate number of general practitioners (GPs) to meet the needs of patients in each area.
	The Essex area team is developing its primary care strategy in line with NHS England policy. A key component of the strategy will focus on developing the primary care work force, ensuring that the number of GP training practices is increased and developing a clear succession plan with GP practices where many single handed GPs are nearing retirement age to ensure continuity of care for patients.
	We understand that NHS England has no immediate plans to publish guidelines on a maximum ratio of GPs to patients.

Health Services: Older People

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients (a) 75 years old or over and (b) 65 years old or over were readmitted to hospital as an emergency case within 28 days of being discharged in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 in each English hospital trust area; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Health & Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has advised that information as requested is not available separately for emergency readmissions within 28 days of discharge of adults aged over 65 years.
	The HSCIC has provided the annual number of emergency readmissions to hospital within 28 days of discharge of adults aged 75 years and over. Information for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13 is not available (2011-12 is expected to be published December 2013, and 2012-13 the year after). Information for the years 2010-11 is available.
	Information is not publicly available at the level of national health service trust to protect patient confidentiality, though this information is publicly available at the level of former strategic health authority (SHA). The following table shows emergency readmissions to hospital within 28 days of discharge from hospital of adults aged 75 years and over, England and SHA, financial year 2010-11.
	
		
			 Readmissions 
			 Region Number 
			 England 201,571 
			 North East SHA 12,352 
			 North West SHA 30,621 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 22,785 
			 East Midlands SHA 16,836 
			 West Midlands SHA 20,980 
			 East of England SHA 19,866 
			 London SHA 28,182 
			 South East Coast SHA 18,920 
			 South Central SHA 11,997 
			 South West SHA 17,860 
			 Other(1) 1,172 
			 (1) This category includes readmissions where a postcode could not be assigned. This can include foreign nationals, homeless, or incorrect/out-of-date recordings of postcodes.

Immigration

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had on the likely number of Romanian and Bulgarian nationals who might migrate to the UK over the next three years; and what assessment he has made of the potential effects on his Department.

Anna Soubry: Neither the Department nor wider Government have forecast figures for the numbers of migrants that could arrive from Romania and Bulgaria over the next three years. It is not credible to accurately forecast likely inflows from Romania and Bulgaria once restrictions on free movement for workers are lifted, because they are dependent on too many uncertainties to draw robust conclusions.
	European Economic Area nationals working, and paying taxes here, are entitled to free national health service hospital treatment.

Personnel Management

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his Department were employed in human resources functions in each of the last five years; at what grades such staff were employed; and what the total cost of his Department's human resources functions was.

Daniel Poulter: The number of officials employed in the Department's human resources function in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			 Number 
			 Grade 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Administrative Officer 6.7 5.7 5.7 6.6 2.6 
			 Executive Officer 13.5 12.3 13.3 10.4 14.4 
			 Higher Executive Officer 9.0 9.0 7.0 8.7 9.9 
			 Senior Executive Officer 6.8 9.8 10.9 8.9 4.9 
			 Grade 7 6.7 9.7 9.6 8.6 9.2 
			 Grade 6 5.0 6.0 7.0 6.0 6.0 
			 Senior Civil Servants 5.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 
			 Total 52.7 56.5 57.5 52.2 50.0 
			 Note: Staff numbers are provided on the basis of full-time equivalents as at 31 March and include fixed-term appointments and staff on loan to the Department. Source: Department of Health Business Management System. 
		
	
	The total costs for officials in the Department's human resources function in the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Costs (£) 
			 2008-09 2,907,809 
			 2009-10 2,918,784 
			 2010-11 2,950,235 
			 2011-12 2,917,205 
			 2012-13 2,860,929 
			 Source: Department of Health Payroll System.

Sunscreens

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to reclassify sun care products as pharmaceutical products.

Norman Lamb: The decision as to whether a product is classified as a medicinal product is made on a case by case basis by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) using the definition of a medicinal product contained in article 1 of directive 2001/83/EC, relevant legal precedent and the MHRA's published guidance. Sun care products which do not fall within the definition of a medicinal product are regulated under the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2008 as amended.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Abu Qatada

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department possesses intercept evidence that, if admissible in court, could help bring criminal charges against Abu Qatada.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 3 June 2013
	It is the established practice of successive Governments to neither confirm nor deny whether intercept evidence is held on any individual.

Alexander Litvinenko

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will make it her policy to initiate a public inquiry into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko;
	(2)  whether the Government hold information not covered by the public interest immunity certificate relating to the inquest into the death of Alexander Litvinenko which could be used to prosecute the alleged murderer of Mr Litvinenko.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 3 June 2013
	In the Coroner's ruling on 17 May, Mr. Justice Owen invited submissions from Interested Parties on whether he should write to the Home Secretary to request that a statutory inquiry be established. The Government are carefully considering the ruling.

Animal Experiments

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to table nine of her Department's publication, “Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2011”, if she will provide examples of the other foodstuffs for which animals are used.

James Brokenshire: Table 9 of the “Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2011” reports scientific procedures (toxicology) by species of animal and toxicological purpose. The majority of the 4,089 procedures recorded under the heading “other foodstuffs” in table 9 were for shellfish toxin testing. We expect the number of procedures for this purpose to reduce from 2012 onwards as a result of the increased availability of non-animal-testing methods.

Asylum: Finance

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse has been of Section 4 support in each of the last five years.

Mark Harper: Expenditure on Section 4 support for the last five years for which audited accounts are available is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2007-08 73 
			 2008-09 91 
			 2009-10 102 
			 2010-11 56 
			 2011-12 22 
		
	
	Audited accounts for the UK Border Agency for 2012-13 will be available in July and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

Entry Clearances

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a visa will be issued to Ms Sadie Lee Douglas, Ref D1080985/4, whose appeal to be allowed to remain in the United Kingdom was granted on 24 January 2012.

Mark Harper: holding answer 3 June 2013
	I wrote to my hon. Friend separately on this individual case on 4 June 2013.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the inter-ministerial team on human trafficking has met in each year since it was established; and which Ministers attended each such meeting.

Mark Harper: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 13 May 2013, Official Report, columns 9-10W.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures her Department has in place to monitor the movements of children who were victims of human trafficking.

Mark Harper: The Government view the trafficking of children as a very serious offence and are fully committed to safeguarding victims of child trafficking. Local authorities have a statutory duty under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in need of protection, including trafficked children.
	While the movements of child victims of trafficking are not directly monitored, local authorities have a statutory obligation in place to ensure that all children in need, including those who may have been trafficked, are assessed and appropriate support and services put in place.
	The Government have awarded a grant to the Refugee Council and The Children's Society to undertake a joint independent scoping review on the practical care arrangements for trafficked children in care, which will report later this year. The review will look at the experiences of trafficked children in the care system and identify good practice.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made in establishing a rapporteur for human trafficking in the UK.

Mark Harper: The inter-departmental ministerial group on human trafficking is the UK’s national rapporteur equivalent mechanism.

Identity and Passport Service

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Identity and Passport Office has received any complaints regarding the certification of copy birth, marriage, civil partnership or death certificates by Post Office Ltd through its Document Certification service in the last three years.

Mark Harper: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 915W.

Passports: Hong Kong

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the criteria for issuing UK passports to Hong Kong servicemen has been since 1997;
	(2)  whether the number of British passports to be issued to Hong Kong servicemen was capped following the handover of Hong Kong Territory to China in 1997;
	(3)  where and when the decision was taken to issue UK passports to Hong Kong ex-servicemen following the UK handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

Mark Harper: Until 31 December 1996, Hong Kong Military Service Corps (HKMSC) personnel were eligible to apply for British citizenship under the terms of the British Nationality Selection Scheme (BNSS) provided certain criteria were met. Up to 50,000 heads of households, together with their dependents, could be registered under this scheme.
	No additional measures were introduced to allow former Hong Kong personnel to acquire British citizenship following Hong Kong's departure from the British Dependent territories in 1997. However, there are a number of provisions within current nationality legislation which may be used by those who wish to become a British citizen and who did not register under the BNSS including:
	Registration under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997. Detailed information on this Act can be found at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/nationalityinstructions/nisec2gensec/
	Registration under section 4(2) or section 4(B) of the British Nationality Act 1981. Further information on the requirements for these categories, and all nationality categories, can be found at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/
	There are no limits on the number of people who can register under these provisions.

Personnel Management

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials in her Department were employed in human resources functions in each of the last five years; at what grades such staff were employed; and what the total cost of her Department's human resources functions was.

James Brokenshire: The scope of human resources (HR) activities within each Government Department is defined by Civil Service HR, which requires Departments to return information on the size and cost of their HR activities on an annual basis.
	The number and cost of civil servants employed in the Home Office's activities is provided in Table 1. The returns on the size and cost of HR activities were only introduced for 2009-10 and information for 2008-09 cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs. Similarly, information on grade breakdown cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.
	From 2011-12 Civil Service HR set up a number of HR Expert Services (Civil Service Employee Policy, Civil Service Learning and Civil Service Resourcing (from 1 April 2011) and Civil Service Organisational Development and Design (from 1 April 2012)). The Home Office hosts two of these services on behalf of the civil service—Civil Service Learning and Civil Service Organisational Development and Design. The number and cost of civil servants employed in these services is provided in Tables 2 and 3 respectively.
	It should be noted that while the size and cost of the two expert services hosted by the Home Office are reported separately in Tables 2 and 3, Table 1 includes the Home Office's contribution to the apportionment of headcount and costs as agreed in the Civil Service HR Expert Services: Funding Schedule.
	Tables 2 and 3 should not, therefore, be aggregated with Table 1 as this would result in double counting for the Department.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number and cost of civil servants employed in Home Office Department-wide HR activities: 2008-09 to 2012-13 
			  Financial year 
			  2008-09(1) 2009-10(2) 2010-11(2) 2011-12(3) 2012-13(4) 
			 Number of employees in HR functions (FTE) n/a 623 444 341 n/a 
			 Cost of HR functions (£ million) n/a 46.21 30.52 24.76 n/a 
			 (1) Annual “Civil Service HR Resource Surveys” were introduced in 2009-10; figures cannot be provided for 2008-09 without incurring disproportionate costs. (2) Figures for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are taken from “Civil Service HR Resource Surveys”. (3) In 2011-12 there was no “Civil Service HR Resource Survey”. Information has been obtained from “Civil Service HR Quarterly Data Summary” (Quarter 4, 1 January 2012 to 31 March 2012) and annualised. (4) Data for the “Civil Service HR Resource Survey” for 2012-13 have recently been commissioned by Civil Service HR and are being data cleansed and analysed; it has not possible to include them in this parliamentary question within the time scales allowed for a response. Periods covered: FTE data are provided as at 31 March for each financial year. Costs data are provided on a financial year basis, covering the period 1 April to 31 March. Organisational coverage: As per “Civil Service Human Resources Quarterly Data Summary Commissioning Notes”, figures include: (1) Home Office headquarters and its executive agencies (the UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau (which left the Department on 3 December 2012)); (2) The departmental apportionment for Shared HR Expert Services (as defined in “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Funding Schedule (various years)”. Each year's funding schedule identifies the component of the invoices that will be made to Departments for Core Civil Service HR Expert Services and the notional FTE that should be added to their HR FTE for benchmarking purposes; and (3) HR work undertaken by Ministry of Justice civil servants who provide a shared service for the Home Office as part of the HR function. Employee coverage: Figures are given on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis and include all permanent employees and those on fixed term contracts who have been employed by the Home Office for over a year and who are engaged on in-scope HR work for at least 50% of their time. In-scope HR work is defined by the Cabinet Office as: (i) HR strategy, planning and commissioning (ii ) Change management and organisation development (iii) Performance and capability management (iv) Reward and recognition (v) Employee relations and engagement (vi) Case work (excluding query answering) (vii) Management Information Services (viii) Policy (ix) Resourcing (x) Generic learning and development (xi) HR information/query answering Figures also include an apportionment for the Shared Expert Services and the HR work done in the Shared Service Centre as directed by the Cabinet Office. Source: Home Office departmental-wide annual “Civil Service HR Resource Surveys” and “Civil Service HR Quarterly Data Summary” (Quarter 4, 1 January 2012 to 31 March 2012). 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number and cost of civil servants employed in Civil Service Learning (a Civil Service-wide HR Expert Services HR Function hosted by the Home Office), 2008-09 to 2012-13 
			  Financial year 
			  2008-09(1) 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12(2) 2012-13(3) 
			 Number of employees in HR function (FTE) n/a n/a n/a 59 65 
		
	
	
		
			 Cost of HR function (£ million)(4) n/a n/a n/a 5.69 9.18 
			 (1) The Civil Service Learning HR Expert Services HR Function was launched on 1 April 2011 and became fully-operational on 1 April 2012. No information exists for previous years. (2) “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Annual Report 2011-12” (3) “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Annual Report 2012-13” (4) The cost of HR function includes costs of developing civil service-wide IT infrastructure and e-learning. Periods covered: FTE data are provided as at 31 March for each financial year. Costs data are provided on a financial year basis, covering the period 1 April to 31 March. Organisational coverage: Figures include headcount and costs for Civil Service Learning as per “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Annual Report”. Employee coverage: Figures are given on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis. Source: “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Annual Report (various years)” 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Number and cost of civil servants employed in Civil Service Organisational Development and Design (a Civil Service-wide HR Expert Services HR Function hosted by the Home Office), 2008-09 to 2012-13 
			  Financial year 
			  2008-09(1) 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13(2) 
			 Number of employees in HR function (FTE) n/a n/a n/a n/a 4 
			 Cost of HR function (£ million) n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.61 
			 (1) The Civil Service Organisational Development and Design HR Expert Services HR Function was launched in 2012-13. No information exists for previous years. (2) “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Annual Report 2012-13”, and “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Funding Schedule 2012/13” (V2.0 8 February 2013), Annex A and Appendix A-4. Periods covered: (1) Costs calculated on a full economic cost basis at a constant price base; (2) Cost shares calculated on the basis of departmental group headcount as published by Office for National Statistics (ONS) in Civil Service Employment Statistics with a taper applied and subject to agreed amendments (See relevant Annex B of each year's “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Funding Schedule”); and (3) Costs exclude attendance on the Capability Building Programme. Organisational coverage: Figures include headcount and costs for Civil Service Organisational Development and Design as per “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Funding Schedule”. Employee coverage: Figures are given on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis using ONS Civil Service Employment Statistics. Sources: “Civil Service HR Expert Services: Annual Report 2012-13 and Civil Service HR Expert Services: Funding Schedule 2012/13 (V2.0 8 February 2013), Annex A and Appendix A-4”.

Surveillance

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for communications data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 have resulted in (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions since implementation of that Act.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 3 June 2013
	Communications data are used in the investigations of 95% of all serious and organised crime. In a recent study conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service, communications data were also used in 95% of prosecutions by their organised crime division between July 2012 and February 2013.
	However, detailed information relating to all prosecutions and convictions involving communications data is not collected centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Surveillance

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many requests for communications data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 there have been for (a) subscriber data, (b) service use data, (c) traffic data and (d) any combination of those data types in each year since 2000;
	(2)  how many authorisations to use communications data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 have been granted in each year since implementation of that Act;
	(3)  how many requests there have been for communications data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in each year since 2000;
	(4)  to which offences requests for communications data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 related in each year since 2000.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 3 June 2013
	Detailed information about the number of requests made for communications data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is contained in the Annual Reports of the Interception of Communications Commissioner. Copies of the reports have been placed in the Library of the House and the most recent report covering 2011 is available at:
	http://www.intelligencecommissioners.com/docs/0496.pdf
	Detailed statistics on the types of investigations for which communications data were requested are not available.

WALES

Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his Department's budget for ministerial travel for (a) the Government Car Service, (b) private hire vehicles, (c) taxis, (d) rail, (e) aviation and (f) other is for (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office has set a budget of £84,000 for the Government Car Service in 2013-14. The Department does not set individual budgets for private hire vehicles, taxis, rail and aviation. A general travel budget is allocated for the ministerial private office and this is set at £80,000 in 2013-14.
	The Wales Office has not yet set travel budgets for 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on ministerial travel by (a) Government Car Service, (b) private hire vehicles, (c) taxis, (d) rail, (e) aviation and (f) other means in each year of the current parliament.

Stephen Crabb: The following table sets out how much the Department spent on ministerial travel by Government Car Service; private hire vehicles; taxis; rail; aviation; and other means in each year of the current Parliament.
	
		
			 £ 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Government Car Service(1) 178,333.23 116,272.93 111,079.24 
			 Private Hire Vehicles 2,820.75 25,701.10 26,863.50 
			 Taxis 12.10 — 103.80 
			 Rail 6,187.23 5,557.80 5,700.09 
			 Aviation 275.32 425.43 16,722.48 
			 Other means 0 0 0 
			 (1 )During 2010-11, departmental cars were reduced from three to one. 
		
	
	2010-11 covers the period from May 2010 to March 2011.
	The Wales Office had two Ministers up to September 2012, and three thereafter.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Concessions

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the net savings to his Department in the case that the concessionary bus pass was to be withdrawn from those pensioners currently eligible to pay income tax at the (a) higher rate of 40% and (b) additional rate of 45%.

Norman Baker: Government does not hold information about the rates of income tax that concessionary bus pass holders pay. Therefore I do not have an estimate of the net savings that could be achieved by means testing via individual's income tax rates. However, the cost of the concession is driven by the number of trips made, and the following tables from the National Travel Survey (NTS) show pass uptake and concessionary bus boardings made by six household income groups:
	
		
			 NTS Table 1: Take-up of older person's concessionary travel pass by household income: England, 2008-10 
			 Household income: Take-up rate (%) 
			 Less than £7000 79 
			 £7,000 to £9,999 80 
			 £10,000 to £14,999 78 
			 £15,000 to £19,999 80 
			 £20,000 to £29,999 73 
			 £30,000 to £39,999 70 
			 £40,000 or more 63 
			 All household incomes 75 
		
	
	
		
			 NTS Table 2: Average number of bus boardings using an older person's concessionary pass by household income: England, 2008-10 
			 Household income Bus boardings per pass holder per year 
			 Less than £7000 198 
			 £7,000 to £9,999 167 
			 £10,000 to £14,999 122 
			 £15,000 to £19,999 104 
			 £20,000 to £29,999 86 
			 £30,000 to £39,999 78 
			 £40,000 or more 77 
			 All household incomes 119 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are based on data from three NTS survey years combined (2008, 2009 and 2010). 2. These figures do not take into consideration the concessionary travel changes which took place in April 2010 and all individuals 60+ have been included in the eligibility base for all years.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) written and (b) telephone complaints were received by his Department from businesses concerning the performance of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

Stephen Hammond: The information requested on how many complaints were received by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency specifically from businesses is not held. The total number of recorded complaints from all customers is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Written Telephone 
			 2010 12,612 69 
			 2011 11,852 101 
			 2012 12,264 142

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to compensate communities for the loss of assets such as sports clubs as a result of the construction of High Speed 2.

Simon Burns: If a community facility such as a sports club has to move due to HS2 then the owners/operators of that club will have a claim for compensation that, subject to negotiation of that claim, should allow that facility to relocate to an alternative site in the area. This is what we would normally expect to happen and we would seek to open negotiations on such an arrangement, with the club/facility, at the appropriate time.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing a property bond scheme to facilitate a functioning property market in areas facing blight as a result of the planned High Speed 2 project.

Simon Burns: The Government have in the past used various modelling assumptions to assess broad HS2 property compensation policy options against each other on a consistent basis. We do not, though, hold estimates of the likely cost of any particular property bond scheme. Property bond schemes for transport projects have never been fully implemented in the UK, so there is no available evidence about the cost of such schemes in practice.
	We are currently preparing to consult again on discretionary property compensation schemes to support people affected by the HS2 proposals. We hope to provide further analysis of property bond scheme options in the consultation documents.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the National Audit Office report, “High Speed 2: A review of early programme preparation”, published 16 May 2013, HC 124, what plans he has to re-evaluate the business case for High Speed 2.

Simon Burns: The National Audit Office's report focused on an early iteration of the business case for HS2, produced nearly two years ago. The Department is committed to regularly updating the business case, to take account of the latest information and check that the programme is still on track to deliver value for money.

Personnel Management

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in his Department were employed in human resources functions in each of the last five years; at what grades such staff were employed; and what the total cost of his Department's human resources functions was.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport and its executive agencies have taken an active approach to driving efficiencies through an HR Review commenced in 2009. This has developed a group operating model and supported both the Next Generation HR Programme and Shared Service strategy. The information requested is outlined in the following tables and reflects that transition.
	
		
			 HR FTEs by year 
			 Grade 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 AA n/a 19.4 7.1 5.1 4.1 
			 AO n/a 114 57.5 46.7 16.4 
			 EO n/a 91.2 45.7 27.3 23.7 
			 HEO n/a 105.4 70.7 61.3 58.1 
			 SEO n/a 66.5 61.1 44.2 36.9 
			 G7 n/a 34.2 36.7 25.5 26.3 
			 G6 n/a 7 10 9.7 8.7 
			 SCS n/a 7.3 5.2 5.5 5 
			 CSHR 0 0 0 11 10.7 
			 TOTALS 495 445 294 236.3 189.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Total HR cost by year 
			 £ million 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Cost 28.692 25.73 18.79 15.069 13.012

Railways

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what level of punctuality for passenger rail services was recorded on the (a) East Coast main line and (b) Essex Thameside route in each year since 1995-96.

Norman Baker: Punctuality figures are recorded by Network Rail in the form of the Public Punctuality Measure (PPM), and also in the form of Right-Time.
	Data are available for the Essex Thameside and East Coast Franchise Operators from 1997/98 and can be found at:
	http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/9d66bf3e-f61a-490a-ba7d-1ee3fb9b86a3

Railways: Fares

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average increase in (a) regulated and (b) unregulated passenger rail fares was on the (i) East Coast main line and (ii) Essex Thameside route in each year since 1995-96.

Norman Baker: The Department does not hold detailed information prior to 2004.
	Regulated rail fares were limited to an average annual increase of no more than inflation from 1995 to 1998, by 1 per cent below inflation from 1999 to 2003 and for most operators by 1 per cent above inflation from 2004.
	The average permitted annual increase in all regulated rail fares, including those on c2c and East Coast since 2003 was as follows:
	
		
			  Average permitted annual increase (percentage) 
			 2004 4.1 
			 2005 4 
			 2006 3.9 
			 2007 4.3 
			 2008 4.8 
			 2009 6 
			 2010 -0.4 
			 2011 5.8 
			 2012 6 
			 2013 4.2 
		
	
	The Department does not hold information about increases in unregulated fares.
	The Office of Rail Regulation ('ORR') publishes an index showing the average change in price in all rail fares from 2004, with fares at January 2004 shown as 100. Fares on c2c are included in London and South East and fares on East Coast are included in Long Distance.
	
		
			  London and South East Long Distance 
			 January   
			 2004 100 100 
			 2005 104.8 104.7 
			 2006 109.6 113.2 
			 2007 115.1 120.7 
			 2008 121.8 128.6 
			 2009 130.1 139.4 
			 2010 130.6 140.7 
			 2011 139.3 148.3 
			 2012 147.8 157.3 
		
	
	The real terms change in average price from 2004 to 2012 for London and South East was 13.8% and for Long Distance 21%.
	The full table can be found on ORR's website
	http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/html/html/7cff3127-a5cc-4173-ac78-016db2339811

Sign Language

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the equality of access available for deaf people whose first language is British Sign Language in communicating with (a) public transport employees and (b) the agencies and public bodies which support his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has not made a specific assessment of the equality of access available for deaf people whose first language is British Sign Language in communicating with the employees of individual transport operators. I am currently looking at a number of ways of improving the accessibility of public transport, as reflected in our Accessibility Action Plan, as published on 13 December 2012.
	The Driving Standards Agency has worked closely with a number of external stakeholders over recent months to review delivery of the theory driving test. This showed that we could improve accessibility for deaf or hard of hearing candidates. As a result, we are considering the viability of 'readspeaker' software and altering our use of British Sign Language to improve the consistency of dialects and images.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has undertaken customer insight work with the British Deaf Association, which has resulted in enhancements to the services provided to deaf customers.

South West Trains

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2013, Official Report, column 173W, on Network Rail, whether South West Trains has (a) sought and (b) received consent since 2007 from him or his predecessors to carry out business or other activities in the rail industry that fall outside the terms of an existing franchise agreement for passenger services.

Simon Burns: South West Trains sought and were granted consent by the Secretary of State on 27 April 2012 to carry out activities other than the provision and operation of the Franchise Services (as defined in the Franchise Agreement) in relation to Alliance Activities as defined in the Alliance Agreement between South West Trains and Network Rail.

TREASURY

Banks: Loans

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the increase in net lending to small and medium-sized enterprises by institutions participating in the Funding for Lending scheme.

Greg Clark: As part of the monitoring of the Funding for Lending scheme, the Bank of England publishes the net lending data of individual banks on a quarterly basis. A sector-level break down is currently unavailable; however, as the extensions announced will provide stronger incentives to lend to SMEs, the Bank of England will publish net lending figures for 2014 by sector.

Capital Gains Tax

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the potential additional revenue that would be raised by returning to a capital gains tax regime for individual taxpayers which restores indexation, and taxes capital gains at the taxpayer's marginal income tax rate; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: A reliable estimate of the revenue that would be raised by returning to such a regime is not currently available because of the complexity of assessing the large behavioural responses which would result from the change.

Capital Gains Tax

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the potential additional revenue that would be raised by reducing the capital gains tax annual exempt amount for 2015-16 from £10,900 to (a) £8,000, (b) £6,000, (c) £4,000 and (d) £2,000; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: An accurate estimate is not possible.
	The impact of increasing the annual exempt amount for individuals by £500 and for trusts by £250 is published at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table1-6.xls
	The impact of decreasing the annual exempt amount can be estimated by using the same amounts from the table and interpreting the change as a yield instead of a cost. However, the quality of the estimate obtained will decrease as the value of the reduction to the annual exempt amount increases.
	A lower annual exempt amount will also increase administrative costs for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs as more taxpayers are required to make a return to HMRC.

Capital Gains Tax

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the potential additional revenue that would be raised by amending the definition of a personal company for entrepreneur relief purposes to a company in which the relevant individual has at least a (a) 10%, (b) 20%, (c) 25% holding of both share capital and voting rights; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: Reliable estimates of the additional revenue which would be raised by increasing the share capital and voting rights levels required for entrepreneur’s relief are not currently available. The cost of entrepreneur’s relief under present rules, where individuals must hold at least 5% of the share capital and voting rights, is given at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/expenditures/table1-5.xls

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the recommendations of the National Audit Office report entitled “Administering the Equitable Life Payment Scheme”, published in April 2013, whether the Government plan to revise their budget for completing payments to Equitable Life policyholders by the target date.

Sajid Javid: The Government welcome the NAO's report into the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. HM Treasury continues to monitor the budget of the scheme closely and as set out in the recently published progress report the scheme is on track to close in 2014 as planned.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government have paid to Atos for administration of the Equitable Life Payment Scheme to date.

Sajid Javid: Atos has been paid £26.67 million (as at 31 March 2013). Atos's forecasted costs are estimated to be £38 million over the life of the scheme.
	The scheme reported in May 2013 that £604 million had been paid out to c.405,000 policyholders. Payments will continue until the scheme closes in 2014.

Financial Ombudsman Service

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the total fees charged to UK businesses by the Financial Ombudsman Service were for processing invalid and fraudulent PPI claims in 2012; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many (a) invalid and (b) fraudulent PPI claims have been processed by the Financial Ombudsman Service in each year since 2010.

Sajid Javid: The matters raised are for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), whose day-to-day operations are independent from Government control and influence. I have asked that the FOS write to the hon. Gentleman with the information requested. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Fuels: Prices

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had on the development of a policy to offer a stable fuel differential between petrol and diesel and road fuel gases; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Gift Aid

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make changes to the Gift Aid scheme to enable charities to access Gift Aid from small donations made in the workplace.

Sajid Javid: Gift Aid is a successful tax relief and an important source of income for charities, worth over £1 billion a year to the sector.
	Gift Aid cannot be reclaimed on a donation without the individual donor making a Gift Aid declaration. The informed consent of the donor and a clear audit trail back to the donor's tax affairs are fundamental. This is because the donor is voluntarily giving their tax relief to the charity, so must have the opportunity to fully consent to the charity claiming Gift Aid. Without this audit trail, Gift Aid could no longer be considered a tax relief.
	However, the Government have recognised that it is not always easy to gain Gift Aid declarations on small cash donations. So in April this year the Government introduced the new Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme that enables charities to claim Gift Aid-style payments on small cash donations.
	Further, the Government recently consulted on improving and reinvigorating Payroll Giving, which facilitates tax- effective giving in the workplace.

Income Tax

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the potential cost to the public purse of raising the income tax personal allowance for 2015-16 from £10,000 to £12,300 with the same maximum cash benefit going to basic and higher rate taxpayers but no benefit going to additional rate taxpayers; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The estimated cost of raising the income tax personal allowance to £12,300 in 2015-16 is shown in the table.
	A reduction to the basic rate limit has been applied so that basic rate and most higher rate taxpayers will benefit equally from the personal allowance increase.
	
		
			 Exchequer impact 
			  £ million 
			 2015-16 -10,050 
			 2016-17 -11,670 
			 2017-18 -11,850 
		
	
	These estimates exclude any impact on benefit entitlements.

Income Tax: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to ensure that employers and the public are aware of the planned introduction of the Scottish rate of income tax in 2016.

David Gauke: During 2013-14 HMRC will develop an approach to identifying Scottish taxpayers and develop a communication strategy to ensure that individuals and employers receive the information they need. HMRC will contact Scottish taxpayers and employers during 2015-16 so that they understand their responsibilities in time for the introduction of the Scottish rate in April 2016.

Money Laundering

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the role of brass plate companies in circumventing anti-money laundering regulations; and what recent reports he has received from HM Revenue and Customs on its attempts to control money laundering.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs has not made any specific assessment of the money laundering risks posed by brass plate companies as this is being considered in the context of wider work on offshore tax evasion.
	HMRC is developing the intelligence picture on the use of brass plate structures both in the United Kingdom and offshore that are impacting the UK across the regimes HMRC oversees. Specifically, HMRC is working with the Australian Tax Office and the Internal Revenue Service of the USA to tackle tax evasion through the use of offshore structures, some of which include the use of brass plate companies across a range of offshore territories. This multilateral approach is supporting HMRC's strategy for tackling offshore evasion, “No Safe Havens”, published on 20 March 2013. One of the aims of the strategy is that there will be no place for the facilitators of offshore evasion.
	In its role as a supervisor under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, HMRC provides quarterly reports to Ministers on its supervisory activity.

PAYE: Football

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many professional football clubs in England are in arrears to HM Revenue and Customs in respect of their pay as you earn contributions.

David Gauke: On the 22 May 2013 there were 10 professional football clubs in England with arrears of pay as you earn.

Renewable Energy: Scotland

Michael Crockart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of how much revenue will be generated from Crown Estate lease agreements with offshore renewable developers by category of (a) offshore wind, (b) wave and (c) tidal sited in Scotland in each year between 2013 and 2030.

Sajid Javid: The Crown Estate is obliged by law to pay its net annual surplus to the Exchequer. In 2011-12 the surplus paid over was £240 million, of which rents from offshore renewable activity contributed £7.8 million.
	The Crown Estate's financial target for 2012-13 is to generate a return of some £250 million. Since the Crown Estate operates commercially, it does not publish annual targets and forecasts of its net surpluses.

Sign Language

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the equality of access available for deaf people whose first language is British Sign Language in terms of communicating with (a) HM Revenue and Customs officials and (b) his Department's executive agencies and the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs offers a range of contact channels for deaf people. Those whose first language is British Sign can ask HM Revenue and Customs officials to provide a sign language interpreter to help deal with their tax and benefits issues. An interpreter can also make a telephone call to HM Revenue and Customs help lines on their behalf.
	Text-based communication is also possible, through written letters and textphone services including text relay. Along with all our customers, deaf people can also appoint an agent to act on their behalf.
	The UK Debt Management Office, an executive agency of HM Treasury, provides post and e-mail contact details on the ‘contact us' page of its website, and would consider on a case-by-case basis any request for information to be provided in an alternative format in order to ensure equality of access.
	Other non-departmental public bodies for which HMT is responsible will consider access requests as required.

Tax Avoidance: Multinational Companies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he plans to put forward at the G8 Leaders' Summit meeting in Northern Ireland on 17-18 June 2013 in respect of reforming the international regime to curtail tax avoidance by multinational corporations.

David Gauke: Tax avoidance is an international problem that requires coordinated international action. The UK is committed to multilateral action through the G20 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to tackle the issue of base erosion and profit shifting by multinationals.
	In February the OECD presented its initial report on addressing these issues to the G20, recommending further work on international solutions. The OECD will present its proposed comprehensive action plan to the G20 in July.
	The Prime Minister has made clear his intention to use the G8 to drive a more serious debate on tax. We are seeking strong endorsement from G8 leaders by using the UK's presidency of the G8 to highlight the importance of collective actions to tackle base erosion and profit shifting by multinationals.

Tax Avoidance: Multinational Companies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to bring in mechanisms to minimise tax loss to the Exchequer from tax avoidance schemes operated by multinational companies trading in the UK; and what estimate he has made of the annual losses to the public purse arising from corporate tax avoidance in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: The estimated loss to the Exchequer due to corporation tax avoidance is around £1.3 billion.
	Whenever new avoidance schemes are identified, the Government take swift and robust action to address them, regardless of who is using them. This was demonstrated at Budget, where we closed down 10 newly identified loopholes, protecting almost £1 billion in revenue over the next five years, and yielding over £600 million as a result.
	Alongside domestic action to close down avoidance schemes, the UK is taking a leading role on international efforts through the G20 and the OECD to address base erosion and profit shifting by multinationals. The OECD will present a comprehensive action plan to address these issues to the G20 in July.

Taxation: Business

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 May 2013, Official Report, column 29W, on taxation: business, how many large businesses contributed to HM Revenue and Customs' total additional revenue of £6.9 billion gained via compliance activity in 2011-12.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) deals with around 10,400 large businesses. The largest 800 businesses are managed within HMRC's Large Business Service and 381 of those businesses contributed £5 billion additional revenue in 2011-12 as a result of HMRC's compliance activities.
	The remaining large businesses are managed within HMRC's Local Compliance (Large and Complex Unit) and from these HMRC secured £1.9 billion additional compliance revenue in 2011-12. The information to show how many businesses were involved in the inquiries that produced this additional revenue could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Taxation: Domicil

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the potential additional revenue that would be raised by increasing the remittance basis charge from £30,000 to £50,000 per year and making it payable once a taxpayer wishing to retain the remittance basis of taxation has been resident in the UK for (a) four of the preceding six years or (b) five of the preceding seven years; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: A reliable estimate of the revenue impact is not currently available because of the complexity of assessing the behavioural responses which would result from the change.

Taxation: Plastic Bags

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the potential additional revenue that would be raised by introducing a carrier bag levy of (a) 5p per bag similar to the measure in operation in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: Receipts of the carrier bag charge in Wales are retained by the retailer or voluntarily donated to charitable and environmental causes. As such, the introduction of a 5p carrier bag levy in England, similar to the measure operating in Wales, would provide no additional revenue to the Exchequer.

Taxation: Rangers Football Club

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether the internal governance division of HM Revenue and Customs has investigated breaches of unauthorised disclosures of private tax details of Murray International Holdings and Rangers FC during the recent administration period of Rangers FC;
	(2)  whether any member of staff in HM Revenue and Customs has been questioned about unauthorised disclosures of private tax details of Murray International Holdings and Rangers FC during the recent administration period of Rangers FC.

David Gauke: These matters are being investigated by the Police Service of Scotland and the Procurator Fiscal, West of Scotland. At this stage it would be inappropriate to comment further.

Taxation: Rangers Football Club

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will carry out an internal investigation within HM Revenue and Customs into alleged leaks of confidential information relating to Glasgow Rangers FC's tax details.

David Gauke: These matters are being investigated by the Police Service of Scotland and the Procurator Fiscal, West of Scotland. At this stage it would be inappropriate to comment further.

VAT: Sunscreens

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the legislative barriers to reducing the rate of VAT on sun care products.

David Gauke: Although EU VAT law allows member states to have a reduced rate of VAT for certain types of pharmaceutical products, no assessment has been made of the extent to which this could apply to sun care products.

VAT: Sunscreens

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has been raised from VAT on sun care products in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: There is no information available on the revenue raised from VAT on sun care products.

VAT: Sunscreens

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his Department will remove VAT on sun care products.

David Gauke: Sun care products are already provided VAT-free when prescribed by a health professional for certain conditions and dispensed by a pharmacist to these patients. We do not currently have any plans to change this, but all aspects of the tax system are kept under review.

EDUCATION

Academies

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what statutory functions local authorities in England have in respect of academy schools.

Edward Timpson: Local authorities have a range of statutory duties relating to the education and well-being of all children in their area, whichever category of school they attend. Information on local authority duties relating to education and children’s services, including in respect of academy schools, is available on the departmental website at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/a00198443/statutory-duties-of-local-authorities

Academies

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what statutory duties academy schools have in respect of local authorities in England.

Edward Timpson: Academies are bound by their funding agreement and articles which require them to comply with a number of legislative requirements, including the ‘School Admissions Code’.
	Like all schools, academies are under a statutory duty to co-operate with their local authority in the making of arrangements to improve the well-being of children in their area.
	In addition, part 4 of the School Discipline (Pupil Exclusions and Reviews) (England) Regulations 2012, places statutory requirements directly on academies in relation to exclusions.

Schools

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to launch a consultation on changes to the school day and school calendar.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State has encouraged all schools to consider making changes to the school day and calendar. Schools and, where relevant, local authorities have the freedom to make changes to the school day and calendar as they see fit.

Schools

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent research he has commissioned on the effect of changes to the school day and school term on educational outcomes.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education recently conducted a survey of schools and a literature review of domestic and international evidence on the impact of extended school hours.

Schools: Academic Year

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has initiated with the teaching unions to discuss changes to the schools calendar.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State and his Ministers meet representatives of the teaching unions on a regular basis. These meetings cover a wide range of issues.

Vocational Training

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education further to the answer of 15 May 2013, Official Report, column 256W, on traineeships, what figures his Department currently holds regarding the projected number of eligible traineeship providers for the academic year 2013-14; and if he will list the areas which will not have access to any eligible traineeship providers in 2013-14.

Matthew Hancock: In the first year of national roll-out, the delivery of traineeships will be limited to those providers who have achieved an Ofsted inspection grade of outstanding or good.
	Our initial analysis indicates that there are currently just over 1,000 education and training providers that meet the Ofsted grade criteria and are eligible to deliver traineeships in 2013/14.
	We are in the process of writing to all eligible providers to assess the number of places they can offer in the 2013/14 academic year. We need to confirm delivery arrangements with providers and discuss the geographical extent of each provider’s offer.
	The Education Funding Agency and the Skills Funding Agency will work with providers to meet demand wherever possible.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Child Abuse

Tony Baldry: To ask the Attorney-General what steps he plans to take to improve arrangements for children giving evidence in child sex abuse cases.

Dominic Grieve: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) works closely with the police and voluntary sector agencies, which provide support directed at the particular needs of child victims. A range of special measures are available and offered to children giving evidence in sexual abuse cases. New guidelines on prosecuting cases of child sexual abuse are being drafted by the CPS, which are intended to bring about a change in approach.

Community Orders

Diana Johnson: To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the use of community resolution orders to reduce offending.

Oliver Heald: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to the oral question from the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) today.

Disability: Crime

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Attorney-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to ensure that disability hate crimes are more effectively prosecuted.

Oliver Heald: The number of convictions for disability hate crime rose from 141 in 2007-08 to 480 in 2011-12. The conviction rate has remained at around 77% of concluded cases. The CPS is determined to further improve the way it prosecutes disability hate crimes, in partnership with the police. A disability hate crime action plan is being prepared to implement the CPS's response to the findings of the 2011 Equality and Human Rights Commission's inquiry into disability-related harassment and the 2013 Criminal Justice Joint Inspection report on disability hate crime.

Human Trafficking: Prosecutions

Pauline Latham: To ask the Attorney-General what steps the Director of Public Prosecutions is taking to raise awareness amongst prosecutors of how to recognise cases of forced labour and human trafficking; and what assessment he has made of whether current legislation is adequate to enable such cases to be effectively prosecuted.

Oliver Heald: The Director of Public Prosecutions has issued legal guidance and a training programme for prosecutors on Human Trafficking and Slavery, Servitude and Forced or Compulsory Labour.
	The Inter Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking (of which I am a member) keeps the Government's response to human trafficking under regular review.

CABINET OFFICE

Personnel Management

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many officials in his Department were employed in human resources functions in each of the last five years; at what grades such staff were employed; and what the total cost of his Department's human resources functions was.

Francis Maude: The following table sets out details about the staff (full-time equivalent) working in human resources for my Department for each of the last five years.
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Total Costs (£ million) 2.70 2.75 2.46 1.69 2.16 
			 Total Staff 32.77 29.15 27.24 29.50 27.36 
			 SCS2 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 
			 SCSI 0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83 1.00 
			 BAND A 8.56 10.56 9.90 8.67 11.36 
			 BAND B2 7.50 8.50 6.50 10.00 7.00 
			 BAND B1 9.48 5.86 7.00 5.00 6.00 
			 BAND C 5.40 2.40 2.00 4.00 1.00 
		
	
	The ratio of Cabinet Office staff to HR staff has increased over this five year period from 44:1 in March 2009 to 67:1 in March 2013.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Returning Officers

Andrew Selous: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his policy is on charges for services by returning officers.

Chloe Smith: The Electoral Commission monitors and reports on levels of electoral fraud. Its latest report, compiled in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers, found that instances of proven electoral fraud remain very low.
	The Government are committed to ensuring the integrity of the electoral process and tackling fraud wherever it arises. We are always willing to consider ways to ensure the voting process remains secure. In particular, we are bringing forward the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration to ensure that vulnerabilities in the electoral registration process are addressed.

Postal and Proxy Vote Fraud

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent assessment he has made of the extent of postal and proxy vote fraud.

Chloe Smith: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to him at topical questions earlier today.

Social Mobility

Damian Hinds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent progress he has made on the Government's social mobility strategy.

Nicholas Clegg: The Government remain committed to improving social mobility; having established this as the principal goal of this Government's social policy we are introducing policies such as early education for two year olds from lower income families from this September and the pupil premium which will be worth £2.5 billion by 2014-15.

Voter Registration and Turnout

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase voter registration and turnout in local and general elections.

Chloe Smith: The Government are committed to engaging the electorate in elections and wider democratic activity. We have published detailed research, which has informed our targeted engagement with under-registered groups and are now looking at further measures, such as data mining, to maximise registration levels.
	We are introducing online registration to modernise the system to make it as convenient as possible for people to register to vote.
	It is important for all of us to encourage voter turnout—that includes the Electoral Commission, political parties and candidates.

Heseltine Review

Ian Swales: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he has made on the implementation of the Heseltine Review.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to questions 4 and 6 at oral questions earlier today.

Heseltine Review

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he has made on the implementation of the Heseltine Review.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to questions 4 and 6 at oral questions earlier today.

British Nationals Abroad: Electoral Register

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to (a) enable and (b) encourage UK citizens resident overseas to register and vote in UK elections; and what recent discussions he has had with interested parties about this matter.

Chloe Smith: The Government are committed to doing all they can to maximise voter registration, including among British citizens living overseas. As part of the move to Individual Electoral Registration, to help simplify the registration process we plan to remove the requirement for a person's initial application as an overseas elector to be attested by another British citizen resident abroad.
	We are also extending the electoral timetable for UK parliamentary elections from 17 to 25 working days, which will allow postal votes to be issued sooner and so make it easier for postal voters living overseas to return their ballot papers.
	The Electoral Commission promotes awareness of UK electoral systems and electoral registration procedures including how to vote, and the Government understand that the Commission will target British citizens living overseas as part of its online advertising campaigns ahead of the next planned elections.
	We will continue to explore ways to encourage registration among overseas electors in discussions with the Electoral Commission and other interested parties.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Atos Healthcare

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has given to Atos with regard to assessments of patients addicted to prescribed medication; how many claimants have been assessed as disabled or unavailable for work as a result of addiction to prescribed medication; and how many Atos medical reports have been lost, mislaid or otherwise unavailable for consideration by his Department's tribunals, since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: The medical services provider can identify claimants with mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use and these can be broken down further by the type of substance, but addiction to prescribed medication is not included as a “type” for the purpose of a medical assessment. Therefore, the guidance the DWP has given to Atos Healthcare does not include addiction to prescribed medication.
	There is no information available in relation to the number of claimants who have been assessed as disabled or unavailable for work as a result of addiction to prescribed medication.
	There is no data gathered about the number of Atos medical reports which may have been lost, mislaid or otherwise unavailable. Atos Healthcare does not provide medical reports, the Department provides the relevant evidence to the Tribunal Service, and there is no information available held as requested from May 2010.

Clothing

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible have made a claim for evening dress allowance in each of the last five years; and what the total cost of such claims has been.

Mark Hoban: The Department is reviewing current policy on the hire of evening wear. The Department's Regularity and Propriety Framework provides for the reimbursement of receipted expenses relating to evening wear hire where the expense is incurred by staff who, in the course of their official duties, are required to attend official functions external to the Department. It also provides for the hire of academic gowns for staff who are attending graduation ceremonies for qualifications awarded as part of their professional development. For example, five of the 10 claims in 2012-13 related to academic gown hire; the remainder related to external events such as formal dinners and award ceremonies.
	Claims for the last five financial years are set out in the following table. Currently there are over 100,000 staff in the Department.
	
		
			  Number of claims Total costs (£) 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 44 2,294.99 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 46 2,483.04 
			 April 2010 to March 2011 15 791.89 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 6 274.95 
			 April 2012 to March 2013 10 629.00 
		
	
	Health and Safety Executive claims for the last five financial years are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of officials Total costs (£) 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 9 610.50 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 6 584.51 
			 April 2010 to March 2011 3 341.07 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 4 308.50 
			 April 2012 to March 2013 10 778.88 
		
	
	Remploy does not have a specific evening dress allowance. Occasional claims for evening dress hire can be made under general expenses. However this specific information cannot readily be extracted.
	None of the other non-departmental public bodies have made claims for hire of evening wear in the last five financial years.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance has been issued to local authorities by his Department about the implementation of the Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2013.

Steve Webb: Guidance on the implementation of the Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2013 was issued in Adjudication and Operations Circular HB/CTB A10/2013.
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/a10-2013.pdf

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to reply to the letter of 13 March 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman) with regard to Ms Winn Walsh, forwarded to him from the Attorney-General.

Mark Hoban: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) replied to the right hon. Gentleman on 21 May 2013.

New Enterprise Allowance: Northumberland

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of how the new enterprise allowance will affect employment in Northumberland.

Mark Hoban: We have published data on the number of NEA mentor starts and weekly allowance starts by local authority. These can be found at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2013/nea_by_la_jcp_district_parl_c.xls
	The table shows that in Northumberland there were 170 NEA mentor starts and 70 NEA weekly allowance starts for the period April 2011 up to and including November 2012.
	We are in the process of conducting a cohort analysis of NEA which will track participants who have started to trade and will show what proportion remain off- benefit after a year. We aim to publish this analysis soon.
	Note:
	The numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Pension Credit: Birmingham

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of people in Birmingham, Hall Green constituency who are eligible to receive pension credit but do not claim it.

Steve Webb: The “Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-Up” report covers Great Britain for the financial year 2009-10. It provides caseload and expenditure estimates of take-up for income support and employment and support allowance (income-related), pension credit, housing benefit (including local housing allowance), council tax benefit and jobseeker's allowance (income-based). The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 10 June 2010. The figures are available online and can be found here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=irb
	Estimates of take-up are not available for 2010-11 or 2011-12, nor are they sufficiently robust to present at geographies below Great Britain. As such, estimates are not available for Birmingham, Hall Green constituency.

Personal Pensions

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to taking steps to ensure that self-invested personal pensions consist of investments in a single pot rather than separate tranches.

Sajid Javid: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	The pension tax rules place no restrictions on the number of arrangements or pots an individual may have in a self-invested personal pension. It is for scheme providers or trustees to explicitly set out any restrictions in the scheme rules.

Social Security Benefits

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants in each parliamentary constituency have been paid benefits at a level above the benefit cap maximum in 2013 to date.

Mark Hoban: This information is not available.
	However, the following link provides our latest estimates of the number of benefit claimants affected by the cap:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2013/Ben_Cap_Updated_Estimate.pdf
	The number affected by the cap will differ from the number of benefit claimants paid benefits above the benefit cap maximum, as a number of groups will be exempt, such as those in receipt of DLA.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the public's assessment of (a) the proportion of the welfare budget that supports the unemployed and (b) the proportion of the welfare budget that is fraudulently applied for; and what the actual levels are for (A) and (B).

Mark Hoban: The proportion of the 2012-13 welfare budget that supports the unemployed is estimated to be 5.6%. Preliminary estimates for 2012-13 show that 0.7% (£1.2 billion) of the welfare budget was claimed fraudulently.
	We do not routinely collect data on the public's assessment of the proportion of the welfare budget that supports various groups, or the proportion of the welfare budget that is fraudulently applied for.

Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's budget for ministerial travel for (a) the Government Car Service, (b) private hire vehicles, (c) taxis, (d) rail, (e) aviation and (f) other is for (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

Mark Hoban: We do not disclose future year budgets. However, these are set in line with the Departments efficiency targets on discretionary spend for the remainder of the current Spending Review period and into 2015-16.

Unemployed People: Internet

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of jobseekers who lack skills to use the internet in (a) Corby constituency and (b) the UK.

Mark Hoban: There is currently no evidence which records the number of jobseekers who lack skills to use the internet in Corby.
	The Department for Work and Pensions conducted research between June and August 2011 which examined current use of the internet and other technologies in everyday life. The survey was conducted with households receiving working-age benefits and tax credits.
	A link to the published research report is provided. Table 7.5 reports on need for support to use an online service by individual benefits.
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2011-2012/rrep800.pdf

Unemployment: Clwyd

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) job vacancies and (b) jobseekers there were in Clwyd South constituency on (i) 1 February 2011, (ii) 1 February 2012 and (iii) 1 February 2013.

Mark Hoban: The available information is shown in the following table. Comparisons of the number of unemployed people and the number of vacancies need to be interpreted carefully. Any snapshot of unfilled vacancies at a point in time misses the regular turnover of new vacancies notified as existing opportunities that are filled. Both unfilled and notified vacancies miss jobs available in the wider labour market, including those outside the local constituency and those coming up through other recruitment channels or filled by direct approaches to employers or word of mouth.
	
		
			 Clwyd South: Notified and unfilled Jobcentre Plus vacancies 
			  JSA claimants(1) Live unfilled vacancies(2) Notified vacancies(3) 
			 February 2011 1,571 191 209 
			 February 2012 1,811 197 321 
			 February 2013 1,770 — — 
			 (1) The claimant count is a count of the number of JSA claimants on the second Thursday of the relevant month. (2) Live unfilled vacancies are a snap-shot of vacancies available on the preceding Friday. (3) Notified vacancies are the new vacancies reported between the current and previous vacancy count date. The figures in the table are standardised to cover a period of 4 1/3 weeks. Source: http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/ 
		
	
	Universal Jobmatch has now replaced the previous Jobcentre Plus system of taking vacancies. Information on vacancies reported through the new service is not currently available for parliamentary constituencies. Some information, including notified vacancies at local authority level, is available via a Universal Jobmatch management information (MI) tool:
	https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/Reports/Reports.aspx
	Data drawn from Universal Jobmatch should not be compared directly with the previous Jobcentre Plus data.
	DWP is working with Monster Worldwide Limited, the Universal Jobmatch supplier, on a timetable for prioritising and implementing improvements to the available MI, including breakdowns by parliamentary constituency. Further details will be released as soon as they are available.

Vacancies: Thirsk

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies there are in Thirsk and Malton constituency travel-to-work areas; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Based on the jobs advertised on Universal Jobmatch, the number of live job vacancies as at 22 May 2013 in Thirsk and Malton parliamentary constituency is 72. Information regarding job vacancies in the travel- to-work area for this parliamentary constituency is not available from the Universal Jobmatch management information system from which job vacancy data are taken.

Winter Fuel Payments: Birmingham

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households were in receipt of winter fuel allowance in Birmingham, Hall Green constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The information is available at
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?paqe=wfp

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have submitted an appeal against a work capability assessment carried out by Atos Origin in each year since the inception of that assessment;
	(2)  how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have attended a work capability assessment have been deemed fit for work following assessment in each year since the inception of that assessment;
	(3)  how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have attended a work capability assessment carried out by Atos Origin in each year since the inception of that assessment;
	(4)  how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have attended a work capability assessment have been deemed unfit for work following assessment in each year since the inception of that assessment;
	(5)  how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have submitted an appeal against a work capability assessment carried out by Atos Origin were successful in each year since the inception of that assessment.

Mark Hoban: Constituency level data are not available.
	For South Tyneside local authority the following table shows the number and outcomes of initial work capability assessments.
	
		
			 Table 1. New Claims: Outcomes of initial functional assessment that were completed by month of assessment, South Tyneside 
			 Calendar year Initial work capability assessments in South Tyneside 
			  All assessments completed Claims with Fit for Work outcome Claims awarded ESA 
			 2008 10 10 — 
			 2009 1,260 1,040 230 
			 2010 1,830 1,340 490 
			 2011 1,530 970 560 
			 2012 1,540 940 600 
			 Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Data in 2008 are incomplete and include October to December only. 2012 includes January to November only. 3. Recommendations are usually made following a face to face assessment, but health care professionals can also make recommendations using paper-based evidence only. 
		
	
	For Great Britain and the north-east, the Department regularly publishes official statistics on employment and support allowance (ESA) and the work capability assessment (WCA). Table 1a of the Department’s official statistics includes WCAs undertaken, Fit for Work decisions and ESA awards for Great Britain and a further breakdown is available in the dropdown box for the north-east of England. The latest report was published in April 2013 and can be found on the internet at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/esa_wca_20130430.xls
	Note that the official statistics cover GB only.
	Table 2 shows the number of people who started their claim in South Tyneside and the north-east who have had a successful appeal against a Fit for Work decision following an initial work capability assessment. Table 3 of the Department’s official statistics publication linked above includes appeals data for Great Britain.
	Note that the Department only holds information on appeals once they have been heard by HM Courts and Tribunal Service.
	
		
			 Table 2: Outcomes of appeals heard on Fit for Work decisions in initial functional assessment by month of claim start, South Tyneside and the north-east 
			  Outcomes of appeals heard on Fit for Work decisions in the initial functional assessment 
			  South Tyneside North-east 
			  Initial decision overturned Initial decision upheld Initial decision overturned Initial decision upheld 
			 2008 40 60 390 570 
			 2009 260 400 2,790 4,490 
			 2010 240 320 2,360 3,970 
			 2011 170 310 2,070 3,550 
			 2012 20 30 260 410 
			 Notes: 1. Local and regional figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Appeals against repeat assessment, incapacity benefit reassessment and WRAG decisions are not included. 3. The volume of appeals heard and inferred to be on Fit for Work decision in each cohort are likely to alter over time and change is likely to be most marked in more recent cohorts. This is because of the length of time it takes to submit an appeal and have it heard by the Tribunal Service. 4. Data in 2008 are incomplete and only include October to December. 2012 data only include January to February.

Work Capability Assessment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 6 March 2012, Official Report, column 714W, what assessment he has made of the take-up of benefit claimants' right to request audio recordings of their work capacity assessment in 2012.

Mark Hoban: Claimants can request that their assessment is recorded, either by using the service offered by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)/Atos Healthcare or by using their own recording equipment so long as they fulfil certain conditions. However, there is no legal right to a recorded assessment and it should be noted that DWP has no legal obligation to provide an audio-recording service or equipment.
	The current policy for audio-recording of face-to-face assessments is to offer a limited service whereby DWP has asked Atos Healthcare to accommodate requests for audio-recorded assessments where possible when they are made in advance of the assessment.
	We are evaluating the costs and benefits of the current approach and will await the results of this evaluation before making a decision on the future of this service.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Forests

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will publish the Implementation Plan for his Department's Forestry and Woodland Policy statement.

David Heath: Work is underway on implementing all 36 commitments set out in the Forestry and Woodlands Policy statement, including designing the new Public Forest Estate management body, reviewing the delivery arrangements for the Government's remaining forestry responsibilities and supporting the sector-led Grown in Britain initiative.

Personnel Management

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials in his Department were employed in human resources functions in each of the last five years; at what grades such staff were employed; and what the total cost of his Department's human resources functions was.

Richard Benyon: The number of staff (in full-time equivalents) employed in core DEFRA and its executive agencies' human resources function for the last five financial years is as follows:
	
		
			 Date Number of HR staff 
			 31 March 2009 386 
			 31 March 2010 374 
			 31 March 2011 250 
			 31 March 2012 177 
			 31 December 2012 109 
		
	
	A breakdown of staff numbers by grade could be provided only by incurring disproportionate cost.
	The total cost of core DEFRA and its executive agencies' human resources function in each of the last five financial years was as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Cost of HR (£000) 
			 2008-09 20,738 
			 2009-10 23,636 
			 2010-11 9,245 
			 2011-12 9,521 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-13 (to 31 December 2012) 5,728 
		
	
	Information for the last quarter of 2012-13 is not yet available.

Temporary Employment

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on agency staff in each year since 2010.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA has spent the following on agency staff in financial years 2010-11 to 2012-13:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2010-11 2,472,327 
			 2011-12 998,213 
			 2012-13 2,282,143 
		
	
	Data collected under the heading agency staff cover clerical and secretarial temporary staff.

Travel

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible claimed reimbursement for travel subsistence expenses in each of the last five years; what the total cost was of such claims; and what the monetary value was of the 20 highest subsistence claims in each such year.

Richard Benyon: The tables set out the data requested, where available, together with explanatory notes where the provision of data has not been possible. It has not been possible to remove some non-subsistence data from the figures as this would incur disproportionate cost, but where non-subsistence amounts have been included, these are not considered to be material.
	The rows headed ‘Officials’ indicate how many officials claimed reimbursement for travel subsistence expenses in each year, where ‘the last five years' have been interpreted as financial years 2008-09 to 2012-13.
	The rows headed ‘Total Cost’ indicate the total amount paid as subsistence in each year.
	The rows headed ‘20 Highest’ indicate the value of the 20 highest single payments in respect of subsistence claims in each year, where available.
	(a) Core DEFRA
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials 1,343 1,262 1,071 1,033 1,040 
			 Total Cost (£) 697,791 1,017,711 1,071,363 816,169 711,222 
			 20 Highest (£) 3,466.49 4,149.25 4,937.18 3,704.00 3,288.20 
			  1,900.63 3,666.95 4,857.99 2,875.00 3,222.00 
			  1,489.00 3,169.50 4,727.30 2,470.00 2,425.74 
			  1,449.98 2,413.95 3,819.10 2,337.48 2,409.80 
			  1,300.00 2,232.67 3,591.00 2,117.35 2,391.57 
			  1,259.27 1,761.88 3,257.56 2,070.75 2,367,47 
			  1,156.67 1,757.15 3,184.50 2,000.00 2,351.57 
			  1,119.21 1,692.62 2,571.09 1,779.02 2,269.97 
		
	
	
		
			  1,113.27 1,689.29 2,438.63 1,764.83 2,202.41 
			  1,081.92 1,649.96 2,400.00 1,755.90 2,004.06 
			  1,062.21 1,582.66 2,381.89 1,741.21 1,861.79 
			  1,050.75 1,580.41 2,304.26 1,690.00 1,681.60 
			  1,046.92 1,569.74 2,127.29 1,598.05 1,660.65 
			  1,033.20 1,568.40 2,127.29 1,551.40 1,559.60 
			  1,014.00 1,391.64 2,113.09 1,476.35 1,516.34 
			  1,007.50 1,372.29 2,107.33 1,426.56 1,499.36 
			  1,007.50 1,318.80 2,088.73 1,374.00 1,480.58 
			  1,001.98 1,288.28 2,079.59 1,344.92 1,464.88 
			  992.42 1,287.73 2,060.00 1,320.00 1,448.30 
			  962.05 1,271.47 2,060.00 1,319.47 1,371.03 
			 Total 25,514.97 38,414.64 57,233.82 37,716.29 40,476.92 
		
	
	(b) Non-Departmental Public Bodies
	
		
			 Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials — 284 315 280 294 
			 Total Cost (£) (rounded) — 253,000 405,000 263,000 394,000 
			 20 Highest (£) — — — — — 
		
	
	The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board is unable to provide information for 2008-09 or the highest 20 claims per annum without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Commission for Rural Communities 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials — — — — — 
			 Total Cost (£) — — — 1,158 1,694 
			 20 Highest (£) — — — — — 
		
	
	The Commission for Rural Communities was abolished on 31 March 2013. This table sets out the only information available. Providing the remaining information would incur disproportionate cost.
	Consumer Council for Water
	The Consumer Council for Water does not record subsistence costs separately from costs incurred on Government Procurement Cards. To separate out individual subsistence payments would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Environment Agency 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials 5,481 5,363 4,064 3,643 4,231 
			 Total Cost (£) 334,383 298,127 189,014 154,431 199,345 
			 20 Highest (£) 4,593 4,319 3,418 2,638 4,616 
		
	
	The Environment Agency is unable to provide detail of the highest 20 claims per annum without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Gangmasters Licensing Authority 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials — — — — 59 
			 Total Cost (£) — — — — 13,281 
			 20 Highest (£) — — — — 138.65 
			  — — — — 45.66 
			  — — — — 32.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
		
	
	
		
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			  — — — — 20.00 
			 Total — — — — 556.31 
		
	
	The Gangmasters Licensing Authority is only able to provide data for 2012-13. Providing the remaining information would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Joint Nature Conversation Committee 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials — — 116 113 170 
			 Total Cost (£) — — 65,846 65,008 32,948 
			 20 Highest (£) — — — — — 
		
	
	The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is only able to provide figures covering three years, as subsistence was not itemised separately prior to the introduction of a new financial management system. Providing details of the 20 highest claims would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Marine Management Organisation 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials — — 250 253 303 
			 Total Cost (£) (rounded) — — 259,000 269,000 323,000 
			 20 Highest (£) — — 3,448.48 3,473.71 3,888.58 
			  — — 3,354.89 1,629.50 3,796.20 
			  — — 2,400.00 1,000.00 3,637.61 
			  — — 1,533.84 1,000.00 2,268.60 
			  — — 1,330.00 1,000.00 1,394.20 
			  — — 1,299.65 1,000.00 1,098.52 
			  — — 1,200.00 900.00 996.00 
			  — — 1,023.55 900.00 855.14 
			  — — 1,006.56 900.00 840.00 
			  — — 1,005.25 900.00 840.00 
			  — — 1,000.00 898.80 720.00 
			  — — 1,000.00 867.90 699.69 
			  — — 1,000.00 753.90 642.60 
			  — — 1,000.00 726.90 640.75 
			  — — 950.39 694.74 635.00 
			  — — 948.00 670.93 619.33 
			  — — 900.89 655.25 592.00 
			  — — 828.82 637.90 592.00 
		
	
	
		
			  — — 671.04 625.00 587.35 
			  — — 647.80 600.00 540.00 
			 Total — — 26,549.16 19,834.53 25,883.57 
		
	
	The Marine Management Organisation vested on 1 April 2010 and was therefore only able to provide data for the last three years.
	
		
			 National Forest Company 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials — — — — — 
			 Total Cost (£) 1,852 857 2,026 2,418 784 
			 20 Highest (£) 264.08 147.50 155.01 116.43 132.36 
			  151.00 112.00 138.02 116.43 96.95 
			  134.25 90.94 126.81 116.43 80.50 
			  134.00 87.50 114.55 116.43 75.70 
			  121.50 75.17 100.30 116.43 63.44 
			  116.67 71.67 104.99 116.43 59.85 
			  93.06 69.00 99.00 115.00 42.81 
			  91.50 16.85 99.00 111.66 42.00 
			  89.74 14.05 99.00 105.00 30.00 
			  87.50 14.00 99.00 105.00 22.45 
			  87.50 13.33 99.00 105.00 21.90 
			  87.50 13.33 99.00 105.00 18.20 
			  80.61 10.80 99.00 105.00 9.90 
			  44.87 9.63 87.45 105.00 8.80 
			  43.75 8.00 61.75 105.00 7.30 
			  29.95 5.00 50.00 89.00 7.00 
			  23.65 4.95 43.75 88.08 6.25 
			 Total 1,681.13 763.72 1,675.63 1,837.32 725.41 
		
	
	The National Forest Company is unable to provide details of the number of officials without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Natural England 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials 1,809 1,801 1,560 1,585 1,634 
			 Total Cost (£) 1,438,000 824,000 721,000 832,000 1,108,000 
			 20 Highest (£) — — — — — 
		
	
	Natural England's systems do not allow them to identify expense claims that relate to any one individual specifically for subsistence-related costs. Providing this information would therefore incur disproportionate cost.
	Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
	Due to the way data are held in Kew's financial systems, providing this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	Sea Fish Industry Authority
	The Sea Fish Industry Authority is unable to separate subsistence from travel without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Sustainable Development Commission 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Officials — — — — — 
			 Total Cost (£) — 36,655 31,498 — — 
			 20 Highest (£) — 1,302.00 1,034.38 — — 
		
	
	
		
			  — 1,302.00 890.00 — — 
			  — 1,176.00 720.00 — — 
			  — 988.20 594.00 — — 
			  — 966.00 550.00 — — 
			  — 800.00 400.00 — — 
			  — 700.23 375.00 — — 
			  — 470.00 370.20 — — 
			  — 440.00 339.99 — — 
			  — 424,35 334.89 — — 
			  — 390.00 326.85 — — 
			  — 364.97 325.00 — — 
			  — 351.00 310.00 — — 
			  — 340.00 306.00 — — 
			  — 308.00 270.00 — — 
			  — 303.60 252,00 — — 
			  — 288.00 250.00 — — 
			  — 282.90 240.00 — — 
			  — 273.00 230.00 — — 
			  — 260.00 223.26 — — 
			 Total — 11,730.25 8,341.57 — — 
		
	
	The Sustainable Development Commission ceased trading on 31 March 2011. This table sets out the only information available. Providing the remaining information would incur disproportionate cost.

JUSTICE

Appeals

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what measures he is taking to improve the efficiency of the appeals system.

Helen Grant: I understand that my hon. Friend is referring to appeals that are heard in the unified tribunal service.
	On 19 December 2012, the Ministry of Justice published a Strategic Work Programme for Administrative Justice and Tribunals, which describes how we intend to improve the administrative justice and tribunals system in line with our principles of efficiency, fairness and accessibility. A copy of the strategic work programme is available at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/policy/moj/administrative-justice-and-tribunals-a-strategic-work-programme-2013-16
	The strategy includes a focus on improving initial decision making and enhancing the proportionality of the system, while maintaining a focus on what users of the system need. We will be reporting to Parliament annually on progress with steps taken to deliver this strategy.

British Nationals Abroad: Death

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, column 1049W, on British nationals abroad: death, what statistics his Department holds on the nature or cause of death in the 3,391 known cases; and in what respects this statistic differs from that given in the answer of 25 April 2013, Official Report, columns 1049-50W, on British nationals abroad: death.

Helen Grant: There were 1,766 deaths abroad which were reported to coroners in England and Wales in 2012. The Ministry of Justice only holds information on deaths abroad that were reported to coroners in England and Wales. It is not possible to tell from the data if these relate to British nationals. The Ministry of Justice does not hold any information on the cause of deaths aboard.
	Information held by MOJ in relation to coroners is published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coroners-statistics-ns

Inflation

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will list the purposes for which his Department uses (a) the retail price index measure of inflation, (b) the consumer price index measure of inflation and (c) any alternative measure of inflation.

Helen Grant: The Department uses both RPI and CPI to monitor and forecast contract prices. Specific industry indicators are also used for this purpose in areas such as energy, oil, metals, and paper.
	The GDP deflator is used by the Department to inform medium and long-term financial planning, including the running costs of programmes and estimated savings from reforms and policies. This is in line with Treasury guidance.

Information Officers

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the total running costs, including salaries, of his Department’s press office were in each of the last five financial years;
	(2)  what the total running cost of his Department’s press office was in each of the last five financial years.

Helen Grant: The MOJ press office operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, dealing with all media relations for the Department and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). It is right that the public know and understand the work of the MOJ and its agencies and how taxpayers’ money is being spent. The work of the press office is an important element of this.
	The fully inclusive costs of the MOJ press office on 31 March for each of the last financial years are shown in the following table. The cost has fallen significantly since 2009-10.
	
		
			 Financial year MOJ HQ cost (nearest £000) 
			 2008-09 2,543 
			 2009-10 2,998 
			 2010-11 2,467 
			 2011-12 1,944 
		
	
	Until April 2010, the press office paybill included press admin support staff.
	The 2012-13 numbers have not yet been finalised.

Offences against Children

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what training (a) judges, (b) magistrates and (c) prosecutors have to undergo in order to preside over or prosecute a case involving child sexual exploitation; and at what intervals such training requires re-accreditation.

Helen Grant: Serious sexual offence cases in the Crown Court, which will include those involving child sexual exploitation, are heard by appropriately ticketed judges and recorders. All such ticketed judiciary are currently required to attend the Judicial College Serious Sexual Offences Seminar (SSOS) before hearing such cases. Thereafter they can attend continuation training by selecting the course from the Courts Judiciary Prospectus, available at:
	http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications-and-reports/judicial-college/2012/Courts+Prospectus+2013-14
	High Court judges sitting in the Crown Court have this jurisdiction automatically included (without any form of ticketing) by virtue of the status of the appointment, but will also attend an SSOS as part of their initial training. Many will have already attended an SSOS in a previous judicial capacity. A number of district judge (magistrates court) have also attended SSOS training in order to deal with cases that fall to the youth court. Magistrates do not hear such cases.
	As part of the CPS commitment to improve the prosecution of cases involving child sexual exploitation, it has established a network of specialist child sexual abuse (CSA) prosecutors to which every CPS area contributes representation. The CPS is also proactive in developing and introducing training to address current issues and ensure that prosecutors have the appropriate tools with which to prosecute specific offending. For example, following the publication of her report on the late Jimmy Savile, Alison Levitt QC, the DPP’s principal legal adviser, is delivering a series of training sessions for prosecutors on the lessons to be learned from the Savile cases, the first of which took place on 1 May 2013 in Newcastle on Tyne.
	Prosecutors belonging to the CSA network are experienced in prosecuting rape and other sexual offence cases and in child abuse. They have attended the face-to- face CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) training which is compulsory for rape-specialist prosecutors. Held over two days, the training addresses four real-life case studies and introduces guest speakers, the first of whom challenges common myths and stereotypes and explains the psychological impact of sexual violence, while the second, a forensic physician, explains their role and the procedure they follow when examining victims. This training is reviewed at regular intervals.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces Pay Review Body

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he had with the Prime Minister about the latter's decision not to reappoint Professor Alasdair Smith as Chair of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body.

Philip Hammond: It is for the Prime Minister to decide who to appoint as chair of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB). His decision not to re-appoint Professor Alasdair Smith at the end of this term was communicated to the MOD, after advice submitted in the normal way. No further discussions have been held between myself and the Prime Minister.

Armed Forces: Food

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of food procured by the UK armed forces came from UK food producers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Philip Dunne: For armed forces personnel serving on operations, overseas exercises and Her Majesty's ships there is a single food supply contract with Purple Foodservice Solutions Ltd (PFS). PFS lists approximately 1,150 different food-related items for the armed forces in the core range price list. Currently, it estimates that approximately 60% of lines listed, excluding fresh produce, are sourced from suppliers within the UK. The percentage of UK-produced goods changes regularly as a result of seasonality, value-for-money incentives and changes of supplier.
	Armed forces personnel in the UK and permanent bases overseas are primarily catered for through a number of catering, retail, leisure and other multi-activity contracts to deliver catering and other services. Information on the proportion of food procured from UK food producers under these arrangements is not held by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
	The MOD is bound by European Union public procurement directives which demand fair and open competition for all food contracts involving the expenditure of public funds. The directives do not permit the MOD to specify only British products or to only source products from a particular region.

Defence Support Group

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2013, Official Report, column 151W, on Defence Support Group, how many agency workers have been recruited at (a) DSG Ashchurch, (b) DSG Donnington and (c) DSG Bovington in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The number of agency workers recruited at the Defence Support Group's Ashchurch, Donnington and Bovington sites in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table. The Defence Support Group took over management responsibility for vehicle activities at Ashchurch in October 2010 and there are no records available of agency workers recruited at the site prior to that date.
	
		
			  DSG Donnington DSG Bovington DSG Ashchurch 
			 2013(1) 6 4 37 
			 2012 65 79 66 
			 2011 2 8 68 
			 2010 2 7 n/a 
			 2009 63 26 n/a 
			 2008 33 22 n/a 
			 (1 )To 28 May 2013

Nuclear Submarines

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  on how many occasions the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator has withheld the use of (a) Z-berth and (b) X-berth in each location in each of the last five years;
	(2)  whether the Z-berths at (a) Loch Ewe and (b) Loch Goil are available for use;
	(3)  in which periods the Z-berths at (a) Loch Ewe and (b) Loch Goil have been unavailable for use due to regulatory restrictions in each of the last five years;
	(4)  on which occasions the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator has withheld use of Z-berths in each of the last five years; what the duration was of each ban; and what the reason was for each such ban.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 20 May 2013
	The terms X and Z-berth are historic terms which ceased to be used in 2008. The term Z-berth referred to berths where non-nuclear work, material re-supply and personnel changeovers were permitted. X-berth referred specifically to berths suitable for use by operational nuclear-powered warships within Her Majesty's naval bases authorised for work on nuclear systems, namely Devonport and Clyde. Loch Ewe and Loch Goil were historically known as Z-berths but are now termed Operational Berths.
	The Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator has not withheld consent to use any berth on an authorised site in the last five years.

Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) his Department and (b) its non-departmental public bodies procured from companies based in Scotland of a value in excess of £25,000 since May 2010; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such procurement contract.

Philip Dunne: As part of this Government's commitment to increase transparency, since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish information about the contracts they award on Contracts Finder:
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
	In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000 on the Ministry of Defence's website:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-finance-transparency-dataset